Rewrite One of Ice Cold
by Kyuubi no Kitsune0101
Summary: AU No one cared for him, so he grew up cold, bitter, and hated by the village. He attemtped to escape and was caught by her. She brought him back and made a promise with him. He hated Konoha and its people, but he couldn't hate her. Rewrote chaps. 1-4
1. Chapter One: Monster in the Making

**I decided to rewrite this to be updated to my current style before posting the next chapter. Sorry folks, but I don't want confusion for new characters or accidents I made. This is my way of fixing things.**

**Disclaimer: Don't Own Naruto**

**Chapter One: Monster in the Making**

He grew up emotionless and with a cold heart, for no one cared for him. He was bitter because of the hatred the village threw at him. By the time he was four, he had already tried suicide by jumping. His final chance to achieve freedom was foiled when she had to catch him running away from the village on her way back from a mission. He was only armed with a kunai that was most likely stolen from a careless Genin. The frightened look in his eyes made her wonder if he feared all Konoha shinobi or just a few. With him being potentially dangerous, she approached him with caution.

"Back away!" Uzumaki Naruto screamed. He didn't like the way her eyes were red because it made him think of the Uchiha bastards. He didn't cry because his tears were dried up, and he didn't give up because freedom was so close. He did the only thing that he knew would gain him freedom. He sent his kunai through the soft skin of a neck, but that skin didn't belong to the red-eyed Chunin. When he was three, Naruto discovered his like for pain because pain made him alive, so he threw himself off of many buildings along with other pain creators. He stopped reacting to certain things anymore, and every emotion besides fear and hatred were alien.

The neck that he sliced had been his very own. He slit his neck and hoped she'd leave his body alone when he died. He died because it was freedom. Her next move though would shock him completely. She picked him up from where he collapsed and rushed back to the village at a speed only a shinobi could achieve. Nobody stopped her as she burst into the ER. The hospital staff caught a glance of her baggage and turned their backs to the pair. He was going to die; she could just feel his life slipping away as blood continued to soak her front. She frowned. He wasn't going to die today. Not on her watch.

"How can you just stand there as a _child_ dies!" she shouted at the medics. The so-called medics would rather waste their chakra on people who were going to die no matter what instead of a child. "Just heal him! That's your job!" Finally, a medic came forth and healed the neck wound, which was starting to heal on its own, to just a scar. He put a bandage around it to keep Naruto from playing with it and looked at the Chunin.

"Heal him! He's just a child!" Kurenai shouted at the medics. The so-called medics would rather waste their chakra on people that were going to die no matter what instead of a child. "Just heal him! You're supposed to be healers!" One medic did come forth, and he healed Naruto's neck wound that was healing very slowly on its own. He put a bandage around it and looked at the Chunin with pitiful eyes. She felt even angrier with the hospital staff.

"He's in your care now. I've done all I can. He was just trying to please his village once more," the man said with a quick shake of his head and a sigh. He walked away as the Chunin took her chance to leave. She had no clue where Naruto lived, so she took him to her place. He slept in her brother's old room as she dug through her little brother's things in the basement for clothing. The Chunin had lost her brothers and father to the Kyuubi, but she didn't see the boy as the Kyuubi. She couldn't hate this little boy that held the face of an angel.

Naruto woke up in an unfamiliar room that had a nice soft bed. He opened his eyes slowly and looked around the childish room before his eyes rested on the lady from the day before sleeping in a chair. He calmed himself down and decided that escape was his best option. He touched his neck where the bandage covered his scar. He'd remove them later because he needed to leave quickly. He tried to quietly slip out of the bed, but a hand grabbed his arm. The lady was awake and didn't look happy.

"I'm Yuhi Kurenai," the lady said. Naruto didn't make any motions that he understood what she was saying. Kurenai just had to trust that he might. "Why do you want to die?" Tears were blinked away from her eyes as he cocked his head to the side. How many times did he hear that question? "Do you want to die?" Naruto nodded. Kurenai closed her eyes and forced herself to be calm. "I don't want you to die. You're just a little confused about your place in the world." Naruto backed away from her touch until his back hit the wall the bed was against. He stared at her with cold blue eyes. Kurenai saw the hurt within those orbs and knew that she couldn't help him alone. "Naruto, let's make a promise." Naruto blinked and looked interested. "Promise me that one day, you'll smile for me." Naruto watched her outstretch her pinky and kept rehearing her words in his mind. He looked up at her red eyes. He could make this promise, so he linked his pinky with hers and was set free from her home. "Can't keep you forever, can I?" Naruto shrugged and walked down the streets to home.

Naruto was home before he looked at the clothing he wore. The kind Chunin had given him a black long sleeve t-shirt with the words, 'Lil' Tigers' on the front in white with the number eleven. The brown cargo pants were a little long, but they were okay. Both items were old and worn to the point where the black was almost a dark grey. Naruto figured they were a brother's. He looked at himself in the bathroom mirror and promised in his heart to repay the red-eyed woman that wasn't an Uchiha.

ICECOLD

Twelve-year-old Naruto had gone colder since he met Kurenai. The roughly cut scar going across his neck made everyone a little fearful of him. Unlike the other children, he passed his Genin Exam a special way. He had stolen a scroll, gained the respect of Iruka (a teacher he thought hated him), and beat up a traitor Chunin. The price for all of this was listening to the most boring lecture in the universe. Naruto spent it staring out the window. He barely listened to the teams being called. When it came to Team Seven though, he rolled his eyes at Haruno Sakura's name; she was a weak fan girl. When Iruka said Uchiha Sasuke's name, Naruto felt an old anger bubble in his chest.

"I refuse to be on the same team as one of the idiots from the Bastard clan! I didn't graduate at the bottom of the class, so why am I with him!" Naruto shouted. Some of the fan girls screamed at him and threw things, but Naruto only stared at Iruka with angry eyes. The Chunin hated explaining things to Genin because they grew giant egos most of the time. He didn't need Sasuke's ego getting any bigger. Iruka called for silence of the fan girls.

"Naruto, just because you grew up alone, doesn't mean you can be selfish. The Hokage and I put these teams together because most of the teams have specialties," Iruka started. Everyone was now paying attention. "Naruto, you have a single specialty. You'd work best in assassinations, so whatever team you were to be on was expected to be the Assassination Squad under Hatake Kakashi. He chose Sasuke and Sakura because we didn't know who else to put on the team. You'll just have to deal with it." Iruka let out a long sigh as he looked at the new Genin. How many of them would come back for more training? How many of them would be dead before they were sixteen? He sometimes hated his job. Iruka looked at Naruto, the perfect assassin. The boy reminded the Hokage of Kakashi himself because Naruto had a tendency to live by the book and nothing else. The shinobi rules were life to Naruto.

"Iruka-sensei, you said Team Seven is the Assassination Squad. What do you mean by that?" Yamanaka Ino asked. She was worried about Sakura, but she'd never show it. Iruka frowned before smiling again. He loved teaching kids about the unknown one more time before they left his class forever. It might be better for them to know this anyways because it would affect some friendships.

"In the Third Great Shinobi War, a special Genin squad type was created. The Assassination Squads are linked to the ANBU, and they live the toughest lives. In the war, this type was in charge of killing off leaders and important civilians without getting caught," Iruka said. He knew he had to wrap this up quickly. "Nowadays, to have an Assassination Genin Squad is rare, but they go on missions were there are targets needing to be cut down. They're one of the most important squads to Konoha's welfare." He went back to calling out the names of the teams. The Jonin came and went to collect their students. Sakura watched Naruto with large eyes. He glanced at her.

"Is it true that you once killed a guy for looking at you cross eyed?" Sakura asked. Naruto shrugged and looked up at the ceiling. There must've been a million little squares up there, so he started counting to pass the time. He got up to a million and five hundred thousand before their sensei showed up. He was a silver haired Cyclops, and all he had to do was wave his hand to them to follow. Team Seven shuffled out in a line, and that was the last time anyone except the Hokage who saw them again. None of the new Genin truthfully wanted to know what happened to them.

ICECOLD

Months passed since graduation, and Team Eight and Ten met up at the Chunin Exams. They were all waiting to see if Team Seven made the cut. A couple older Genin glared at the rookies, but they were mainly ignored. A group that had graduated a year ahead of the rookies walked in with a brushy eyebrow kid going on about a rookie group having youthful teamwork. This caught their interests, so they listened in on the one-sided conversation.

"I challenged the unyouthful dark haired one, but they all worked as one! The power of youth keeps them together! I could tell from their strength of each of their punches that they could probably handle a youthful Jonin level or higher alone. All three of them had the same scar on their right cheek. A plus sign! One kid took it too far and put whiskers on each cheek with another going across his neck. So unyouthful. They were dress in an unyouthful black, as if going to a funeral. The snow haired kid told me when I said that 'We don't go to funerals. We make them.' His speech was all in monotone, and the others held the most emotions," the kid rambled on about. The kid's teammates sighed and listened on. "The scarred up kid had the most frightening hate-filled eyes!" Finally, one of the kid's teammates, a Hyuga, told him to shut up. The rookies had no trouble figuring out what team the kid was talking about just because of the hate-filled eyes and scars. The door opened for another team. "That's the team!" All eyes fell on three cold faced Genin that were Team Seven. The eyebrow kid wasn't joking about the scar or clothes.

They all wore Jonin standard black cargo pants with regulation pouches. Naruto wore a black sleeveless with a long sleeve fishnet shirt underneath. Sasuke and Sakura had on long sleeved black shirts. They each had a sword strapped to their backs, and who knew what other weapons were hidden. Naruto and Sasuke both wore black, fingerless gloves without the metal plate while Sakura's had the plate on the back. The real deal sealer was the sight of seeing an unlit cigarette dangling from Naruto's mouth.

"So, Rookie Nine is now all here," Kiba said. He grinned as he led his team over. Ino attempted to latch herself onto Sasuke, but Sakura and Naruto blocked her with their arms. No one had seen them move to behind Sasuke or Sasuke giving a command. "Wow, Naruto. Finally better than being dead last. I thought you hated the Uchiha clan?" Naruto shrugged as he backed away from Sasuke.

"When Team Seven is together, we are Flame, Fox, and Flower. As soon as Founder or Hokage-sama, dismisses us from our duties, we become Uchiha, Uzumaki, and Haruno. I apologize, Inuzuka-san, because your brain might not understand the difference," Naruto said with a yawn. This only proved to make Kiba madder. This time though, Naruto didn't need to be rescued by his teammates.

"You shouldn't be so loud, rookies," a silver haired Genin said. He pushed up his glasses and looked at them with a friendly face. "I'm Kabuto." Naruto didn't trust this guy. He began to show the rookies shinobi cards. Kiba asked about seeing the cards on Team Seven's members. Kabuto tried to show them, but what came up was a message about the information being classified without Hokage's permission.

"Alright, you weak links," Ibiki shouted. He walked in and passed the rookies. On his way past, he took Naruto's unlit cigarette. The other Chunin proctors when to their places without the bear of a man moving from standing in front of Naruto. The room seemed to hold its breath as Naruto and Ibiki stared at each other. Ibiki looked back at the cigarette, laughed, and gave it back. Everyone was shocked. "What kind of shinobi smokes mint flavored cigs? Every shinobi knows to smoke odorless unless they're off duty and in the village. Kid, I guess you need bigger balls to smoke regular cigarettes." Ibiki chuckled and went to walk away, but Naruto grabbed his wrist. "What now, little boy?" Naruto sighed.

"Ever hear about the group of shinobi that slaughter missing ninjas left and right with a mint scent left behind?" Naruto asked. Ibiki figured this kid was just another copy cat, but it was still better than nothing. He nodded. "I'm one of them. I'm the minty fresh guy." Naruto had whispered it with a crazed look in his eyes. Ibiki backed off and went into explaining the rules of the test quickly.

ICECOLD

Ibiki walked into the Jonin lounge room and grabbed Kakashi's collar. He shoved three papers into the masked Jonin's face. Kurenai and Asuma looked at the papers as well. They were from the Chunin exams. Ibiki looked angry, so Kakashi's team must've done something to tick the guy off. Asuma spotted it first. All three papers were identical except for the handwriting. Every single picture and word was perfectly the same. It was unheard of for three Genin to be this good.

"Not once were they caught cheating! The papers show the same exact answers!" Ibiki shouted. He let go of Kakashi's collar as Kurenai sniffed the air and laughed. A glare was sent her way by the examiner. He smelled of mint. "That white haired brat had the nerve to smoke his girly cigs in the middle of the test too!" Kakashi laughed as Asuma and Kurenai were confused. Who was the white haired Genin on Kakashi's team? "What's so funny?" Naruto was definitely a strange child.

"Naruto's cigarettes go with his strongest Katon technique. He invented green flames that hold a mint scent rather than smoky. These flames don't burn. They melt whatever they touch," Kakashi said. Ibiki glared at them and took back his comments on the girly cigs. He turned and marched out. Kurenai wanted to know about Naruto's hair. Kakashi looked at their confused faces. "Naruto's hair?" They nodded. "Naruto was captured once as part of the plan. The variable was what they would do to him. They injected him with a poison. It failed to kill him before I could give him the antidote, and Naruto's hair had turned white within a few days." Kurenai remembered the four-year-old blonde. She remembered his promise to her. Kakashi was gone before anymore questions could be asked.

"Damn! I didn't think that brat could be so bold," Asuma said. He laughed on his way out, leaving Kurenai to puzzle on Naruto's life under Kakashi's teachings.

ICECOLD

In the Forest of Death, night had fallen rather quickly, and Naruto couldn't help but dream of a lady with red-not-Uchiha eyes that had a musical voice. He never threw out the clothes she had given him because someday, he was going to give them back with the smile he practiced in the mirror when nobody was around. He only smiled when he thought of her, and it made his search for her stronger.

Orochimaru attacked the next morning. Naruto gritted his teeth as the Sannin bit his leg and injected him with some sort of poison. It felt like everything was on fire before a bunch of cuts suddenly exploded open on his body. He lost consciousness due to pain that had started going numb. Sasuke was out with a weird bruise on his neck, leaving Sakura alone to fight. She growled and knew that she couldn't stand a chance against Orochimaru. Thankfully and wordlessly, Orochimaru left.

"Stupid boys," Sakura muttered as she carried her teammates to lower ground. They refused to run because Naruto never ran since their worse mission. Sakura knew she'd protect them with her life as she began First Aid on Naruto. She unsealed a large axe from a scroll and prepared for a long night of sitting by her unconscious teammates. She would not leave that spot for hours.

Naruto woke up to Shikamaru and Ino poking him. They stopped when they noticed him awake and backed up to give him space. He moved to get up and winced. It was extremely painful to move even the tiniest bit. He forced himself to stand and hide the pain. He rushed away with Team Seven as they hunted down another team quickly. They were at the tower before nightfall on the third day. He opened the one scroll while Sasuke opened the other. As soon as he dropped his scroll, he collapsed, and, as soon as Iruka showed up, he passed out. Sakura and Sasuke were frozen with shock as Iruka rushed to see what was wrong. Naruto wasn't breathing.

"We need a medic!" Iruka shouted. Those very words would forever bother Sakura and Sasuke because they've seen Naruto brush off life threatening injuries and do things they couldn't. Something about the crack in Iruka's voice made them realize that Naruto was gone.

ICECOLD

Naruto woke up in a numbing pain. He looked around him with half opened eyes and noticed he was in the infirmary. He failed an attempt to tune out the beeping machines. They refused to quit telling him he was still alive and kicking. Naruto glanced at the side of the bed with the morbid thought of having nobody around. Kakashi was the only one there with a grim eye. Naruto didn't feel like talking to this man at the moment. He had to get back onto his feet and go to the next test. He had to become a Chunin. He wasn't going to have it end this way.

"You're no longer in the exams," Kakashi said, sadly. He looked at the machines with a far off look. "These machines are the only things keeping you alive until we can arrest Orochimaru to get the antidote." Kakashi looked at Naruto. "Fox, we won't let you die, so we've decided to pull you out." Naruto sighed and looked at his hands. They were scarred and ugly from the rough training and missions he went through and looked strange to him without the gloved. He tightened them into fists, ignoring the pain. He looked at Kakashi with determined eyes, something that Kakashi never saw in Naruto.

"I'm staying in the exams. She'll be out there watching, and I have to show her my smile before I kick the bucket!" Naruto said. He shocked the Jonin with an emotion that had flashed in his eyes for a split second. Kakashi knew he was the final deciding factor on Naruto's fate in the exams. Without talking, Kakashi walked out and pretended not to notice the hurt on Naruto's face. It would be a memory forever burned within his memory. He almost wanted to turn around and say the two words Naruto wanted to hear, but he couldn't. He forced himself out of the room.

Naruto was allowed to stay in the exams with one condition. He had to be able to walk out of the infirmary for his match. He listened for his name on the intercom with his hand tight around the wires. He wore only black pants because the shirt would just be in the way, and his shoes were lost along with his gloves. When he finally heard his name against Inuzuka Kiba, he ripped out the cords with a stifled scream. He walked out to his match with the wall being his support.

"You can't expect me to fight a guy who is injured," Kiba said, watching Naruto limp over. Hayate shrugged. "He can barely stand without shaking, and I don't want to hurt him any more than he is." Naruto panted and looked at the dog boy. He couldn't muster up a glare at that moment and just wanted to be back with the machines. They were better company at least. "Naruto, think of your health." Up in the stands, Kurenai watched Naruto's face. He grinned large and proud as she choked back tears. He kept to his promise.

"Inuzuka-san, I'm going out like all shinobi should. With a bang," Naruto said. He pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it as Hayate shouted go. Everyone in the stands couldn't believe the smile Naruto showed as Kiba and Akamaru charged him. No one in the building was aware that his heart was starting to slow down and give up. His mind was starting to shut down too. "Goodbye Kurenai-chan. Thank you." Kurenai couldn't believe what was happening and had to turn away. She didn't hear what Naruto said, but this was the same little boy she rescued. The same cold little boy that was ready to die.

Kiba and Akamaru fell victim to Naruto's second strongest jutsu. The green flames acted as a skin poison that froze up their muscles. It was simple to knock Kiba out with a punch. Naruto dropped his cigarette to the concrete floor and stomped on it with his bare foot. There was a little bit of clapping, but Naruto barely heard it as he began to vomit blood. His eyes were wide, but his mouth was smile as he fell to the ground. He could feel his heart giving everything to keep beating as he looked up. She had jumped down and was holding his head on her lap. He raised a hand to catch a fallen tear.

"I've always loved you. You showed me happiness…kindness," Naruto whispered. Kurenai smiled and brushed some of his white hair from his face as his heart gave its final beats. Everyone in the stadium knew she wasn't going to let him just die, but she began crying. Sakura looked down at him with sad eyes before turning away. Not one of the medics would even look at him, and Kakashi was working on restarting the heart with electric chakra. Burnt flesh could be smelled a mile away.

"Damn it, Fox! I told you to quit! Why can't you just listen?" Kakashi asked no one. He gritted his teeth and charged the chakra in his hands one final time. He wasn't allowed to go on and would have to declare Naruto dead. Something he truly didn't want to. His hands touched the bare skin causing it to jump a bit, and Kakashi lowered his ear to listen. Not a single sound came from the body. Too late. "Naruto! You should've listened!" Kakashi was shouting without a care.

"Winner is late Uzumaki Naruto. Neither fighter moves on," Hayate announced. He looked at Kakashi, who only stared at his hands that couldn't save. He glanced at Kurenai, who stared at the Hokage with hopelessness. What Hayate and no one else noticed was the twitch in Naruto's hand as the medics finally took the body away. Kurenai quickly moved to check on her students because the dead take a second place to the living. During the rest of the matches, she couldn't remove the picture of a four-year-old blonde boy gripping a stolen kunai out of fear of death by her hands. He looked human in her first memory of him, and when he grinned, she could see that little boy wanting freedom. Too late.


	2. Chapter Two: Ugly Truth

**Still rewriting. This is so much fun. If anyone is wonder who Founder is, it's Kakashi.**

**Oh, the italics are Naruto's thoughts. The bold print is Kyuubi's voice.**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto.**

**Chapter Two: Ugly Truth**

The funeral was two days later due to Kakashi making the preparations. All of Rookie Nine was there, but they could barely believe that Naruto would die. Kiba felt the guiltiest because Naruto died in their fight. He should've forfeited and avoided the fight. Childish nature caused him to continue. He stood between Shino and Hinata while Kurenai stood behind them as the wooden casket was lowered into the ground. Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke were looking at the ground instead of the grave. Kiba sighed and wanted to believe that Naruto would just hop out of the casket and act like nothing happened. Akamaru whimpered and was held back by a leash. Kiba couldn't accept the truth that was right there.

"It'll get better," Kurenai said softly. She put a hand on Kiba's shoulder to console him. He looked at her with guilty eyes, making her imagine the criminals Naruto had to kill. "The day is always darkest before the dawn." Kiba looked away. Kurenai understood him. She too had a strange feeling about this funeral. Where was Naruto now? Part of her wanted to say Heaven while the other part decided on dead. Simply dead. Kurenai sighed and looked at the tombstone. The dark grey stone changed into a sturdy tree truck that a little boy wielding a stolen kunai for protection stood in front of. The little boy's eyes were wild and full of fright, but he wasn't going to back down. Kurenai clenched her eyes shut and shook her head, forcing the images to disappear like they were burned from her memory.

"Kurenai-sensei," Hinata said worriedly. She touched the older woman's arm, making Kurenai stop and look at her. "Are you okay?" Kurenai blinked and no longer saw Hinata. She saw the Chunin exam arena floor and boy with snow white hair. She watched blood dribble from his mouth as he died and reached up to catch a tear. Kurenai looked away with closed eyes. She opened them again and thankfully saw only her students. Team Eight was worried about her, but they shouldn't worry about her because she was stronger than them. At the end of the funeral, Kakashi walked over from the crowd of the leavers.

"Kurenai, I was wondering if you could help me with something that doesn't need done for little while?" Kakashi asked. The red-eyed woman nodded and waited. Kakashi looked at the gravestone. "I was asked to clean out Fox's apartment, but I was told I had six weeks to get it done. I won't start on it until the exams are over due to teaching Sasuke. I guess I'll see you then." Kakashi walked away to return to his remaining students because there was nothing else he could do. He still had students that were able to learn. Kurenai knew that all shinobi were like that. For as long as there was someone still alive, there was still hope. She too had to look at her students and move on. She had no other choice. He was dead, meaning never going to smile again. That thought was what made Yuhi Kurenai cry finally.

ICECOLD

Naruto found himself in an endless hall with pipes lining the ceiling. He ignored the dim lighting and didn't notice that his clothes remained dry even though he was in about two feet of water. He got up and started to walk because somewhere in these endless halls was an answer. He didn't know where he was going, but his legs kept moving as if they were another being. He didn't bother caring because everything was numb and quiet. It was only a matter of time before he had the answer. The answer showed up in the only door with a bright light bulb hanging in front of it. He began to feel the tiredness and didn't really want to go inside, but his traitorous legs made him walk into the room. He stood in front of the Kyuubi's cage and only wanted to sleep.

"**Feeling a little sleepy?" **the demon demanded. He had changed into a human form, which was Naruto with crimson hair and eyes. Naruto nodded and sat down. **"You can't sleep now because if you snooze, you lose. I've been keeping you in a partial dead state, and you'll be breathing properly in a few days. When that happens, you get to the surface and don't die again." **Naruto opened his mouth to protest, but he could get the words to come out. The Kyuubi sighed and sat close to the bars. **"The poison has been removed by yours truly. If you hadn't been an idiot, I would've had you healed awhile ago. I was countering it while you were in the hospital, and your fight caused it to speed up. The only thing I was able to do was keep it from kill you completely. Just wait and you'll be okay."** Naruto was too tired to think why the Kyuubi wanted him alive. It was better if he kept himself awake by exploring the walls and wandering the darkness without purpose.

ICECOLD

Kurenai couldn't believe what she was doing. She just couldn't stay away. It was late afternoon as Kurenai made her way to a familiar gravestone two weeks after his death. She looked down at the shiny marble and laid flowers upon it. She finished a small prayer before sitting down to look at it closer. Why did she keep coming back to visit him? It was beyond her why. She didn't like visiting him because every time she looked at the stone with his name, she'd see a frightened little boy standing in front of a tree. She'd watched the kunai cut through his throat and just knew that the Kyuubi saved him from being mute. She couldn't figure out why she cared so much while she cried.

Without warning, a hand popped out of the dirt in front of the tombstone causing her to scream, jump back, and pull out a kunai. The hand pulled out a body, and the body turned out to be a dirt cover and tired Naruto. He coughed out mud before looking at her with tired eyes. Kurenai walked over, still in shock, and pulled out her canteen. She held it out for him, and Naruto took it like it was holy. It was finished in seconds. She couldn't believe what was going on. People just don't die and come back to life. Naruto gulped in clean air and looked at her. He smiled.

"I'm back," Naruto said, thinking nothing was wrong. Standing up, he stretched his unused muscles and looked around. "Two weeks left. I only have two weeks to train. Better get moving. First, Hokage must know." Naruto stumbled off towards the Hokage's Tower, and Kurenai rushed after him. She wanted to know more. She had to help him walk and pick him up off the ground. She mentally chuckled at all the looks they were getting because everyone was seeing the living dead.

ICECOLD

Two weeks passed quickly, and the village was in a stir over the finals. Rumors flashed around about a zombie fighter and a murderous plot of another fighter. Everyone was shocked to see Naruto standing with the other finalists. Apparently the rumors about the zombie fighter were true. People noticed that he looked different without the bitter eyes. His face was completely blank as if he lived in a world of his own. Genma couldn't believe what was going on, but he kept a bored face. He knew the white haired boy was at a disadvantage due to training only for two weeks at the most. Everyone had twice that amount of training, so they were ready to fight their opponents.

"Well, the first match used to be Dosu vs. Hyuga Neji, but Dosu never signed in this morning and hasn't been seen since the semifinals. Uzumaki Naruto will take his place in the fight instead," Genma announced. Naruto looked at Neji and sighed. He wanted to fight Gaara, not the pale-eyed freak. Something about Gaara made Naruto twitchy. "The other Genin will have to wait in a special area." The others left. "Hyuga. Uzumaki. Get ready." Naruto moved forward as Neji stared at him, sizing him up.

Naruto wore dark grey cargo pants and an open black vest. There were bandages on his left knuckles, abdomen, and right elbow, and he looked like he didn't care to be there. Neji figured out that Naruto wasn't that strong after seeing his display of flame jutsu. Naruto currently had an unlit cigarette dangling from his mouth. Neji knew it was Naruto's fate to lose this match.

"Might as well give up, Uzumaki," Neji said. He smirked and stared down on the shorter boy. Naruto didn't even move a muscle or react. "It's your fate to lose." Naruto shrugged and patted his pockets. He brought out a red cigarette lighter from his back pocket with a sigh. "Are you going to take me seriously? Why try to even fight me when you know you'll lose?" The scarred boy only shrugged again and looked at Genma with a bored expression.

"Am I allowed to smoke?" Naruto asked. Genma shrugged. What did he care if the kid sucked down on those cancer sticks? "Hyuga, I take no one seriously, but, if you don't mind, there's a demon I've got to fight. Weak little you is standing in my way, so I'm going to treat you like the rest of my targets. Come and fight me if you must." Neji didn't realize it was a trap and took the bait. He charged as he activated his eyes. Naruto smirked and lit his cigarette before throwing it up into the air. Neji didn't see the jutsu coming, for Naruto had sped through the seals. The cigarette exploded, giving the ultimate smokescreen of black smoke and mint scent.

"Coward!" Neji shouted into the smoke. He looked around and saw a figure running at him from the side. The single figure turned out to be a bunch of clones that attacked from all sides. Neji quickly defeated as the smoke started clearing up. It showed Naruto outside of it, smoking another cigarette. "Don't you know that those things are bad for your health?" Naruto smirked.

"Don't you know fate is a bunch of bullshit?" Naruto asked. He blew out a smoke ring towards Neji. "If fate was real, I would be dead. Fate told me to die when I slit my throat at four because I didn't die when I jumped off the Hokage's tower when I was three. There were so many times fate told me to die, but I kept pissing her off by living." Naruto began to walk towards Neji. The Hyuga boy was getting extremely angry because he had enough of this mock battle. "It's like a curse." Naruto smirked.

"You have no idea what an unbreakable curse feels like!" Neji shouted. He smirked. "This battle is over anyways. You're now within the boundaries of my eight trigrams." Neji got into his stance as Naruto sighed. He was going to have to fight the snotty brat after all. "Gentle fist style! Eight trigrams, sixty-four palms!" Naruto briefly wondered how he was going to show this noble the shit he was dealing out. The first hits took his breath away from the pain. "Two palms! Four palms! Eight palms! Sixteen palms! Thirty-two palms! Sixty-four palms!" Naruto went down on his knees laughing. Here he was, back from the dead and on his knees, holding his stomach. Nobody thought he would still fight or stand. Slowly Naruto struggled to stand as Neji rattled off his story of his curse.

"You know what I think about your sob story?" Naruto asked. Neji narrowed his eyes. "It's shit!" Neji came in for another strike and hit above Naruto's heart. Naruto just laughed. "Curses are the most amazing thing. You want to meet mine?" Neji's eyes widened when Naruto tried to gather chakra and succeeded. The only difference was this chakra was red, and Naruto's blue eyes became red. "Let's go, Hyuga! You've bored me this bad!" Naruto got down onto all fours and charged. Neji knew his only way out was his rotation. As the scarred boy came closer, Neji started the rotation. Naruto was surprisingly thrown back several feet. The red glow disappeared, but the red eyes stayed. Genma knew he had to interrupt soon if this continued. "Several years ago, I met a Hyuga like you. His named was Hizashi." Naruto stumbled forward. "I just finished my finest jump yet from the top of the Hokage's monument. Don't ask me how I survived, but I was three years old and had been lying on the ground the entire night. He found me at dawn as I finished healing and everything. I was so ready to hurt someone because I was angry that I had lived, so he sealed my chakra points just like you." Naruto stopped five feet from Neji. "I giggled as I was in pain, and he asked me why. My only answer was what I told everyone. I liked the pain because it felt amazing. He slapped me and yelled at me for wasting my only life before he took me to the hospital to have my points unsealed." Naruto looked up at the sky. "That was my final jump." Naruto looked Neji straight in the eye with his normal blue. "It's over now."

"Liar!" Neji shouted. He was prepared for Naruto's charge, but he wasn't prepared for the increase in speed. The punch Naruto threw hurt like hell and sent him back several feet. Neji swore his jaw was broken as he flew through the air. Naruto was there at his landing spot to deliver a painful roundhouse kick to his ribs. Neji tried to figure out how many bones were probably injured in some way from that kick, but the pain was too much. The pale eyed boy remained still on the ground because he was planning what to do now. Naruto would continue fighting until victorious.

"Is fate wrong yet, Hyuga!" Naruto shouted. He grinned sadistically as he gave the poor noble another kick to the stomach. Neji groaned and went into the fetal position. Naruto watched Neji throw up and groan several times. He felt bad. "Give up fate, idiot. Life only happens once, and if you live by fate, you're living a lie." Naruto picked Neji up by his collar and growled at the wincing noble. "Don't make me repeat myself later. Stop thinking you're better than everyone else! You and me, we're almost the same." Naruto clenched his other fist. "We both got unwanted curses. Don't be like me." Naruto gave Neji a weak slap, like Hizashi did for him when he was three. "Life is precious and shouldn't be wasted. Only idiots choose suicide and pain while heroes choose life and happiness." Neji laughed as he started fading off into unconsciousness. "Only losers live in a twisted fantasy. Don't be a loser like me." Naruto set Neji onto the ground and just stared at the unconscious boy with guilty eyes.

"Winner is Uzumaki Naruto!" Genma shouted. Naruto collapsed onto his knees as the Special Jonin ended his sentence. He began to heal Neji's wounds and smiled at the Hyuga. "Naruto, there are medics coming to do that. You shouldn't waste your chakra so early into the finals." Naruto sighed and stood straight up. He looked at the examiner and tried to figure everything out.

"He's a comrade. Founder told me that as a shinobi, I must respect and care for my comrades. I think that in a way, I'm asking for forgiveness for breaking his bones," Naruto said as he walked away. A sharp pain went through his head, and nobody noticed him wincing. The Kyuubi was screaming in his head about needing blood, gallons of blood. Naruto could taste the bloodlust on his tongue. _Calm down, Furball. I won't let my comrades get hurt by you._ Naruto stopped in the hall and sat against the wall. He brought his knees to his chest and started to cry without knowing what was wrong with him. Why couldn't he just keep everything inside him like he used to? It was his fault for getting attached to the rotten village like a damn puppet. "Uzumaki, get back up!" Naruto roughly wiped away tears. "You aren't him. Don't worry. You're going to be okay." Naruto wiped away the tears and hid his face as Shikamaru walked by on his way to his own match. The genius nodded to him, but Naruto ignored it.

"Good job, Naruto," Shikamaru muttered. He didn't care that Naruto ignored him. It was what Naruto usually did, but something seemed odd about the usually cold boy. He sighed and continued walking. _No more attachments. It'll only get you hurt. Feel the loneliness. Only loneliness._ The final tears were wiped away as he knew what he had to do. The village hurt him enough, and attachments hurt the worst.

"I'm done being a puppet to this place," Naruto whispered. He tried to get up and walk back to the others, but he ended up sitting back against the wall, crying again. He was sick of the loneliness. He never wanted to return to being alone and wished he had someone to care for him. He bit his lip as the tears fell as he knew he had that one person all along. _I love her too much to drag her into my twisted fantasy._ As he cried, he missed Shikamaru's surprising forfeit and Sasuke's overdramatic entrance. He was too busy sitting against the wall with his face in his hands, crying for all his wasted years because who was he to Konoha?

"Naruto?" Shikamaru asked as he noticed someone against the wall. He was tired and just wanted to relax before Ino got to him and chewed him out for his forfeit. A single sound made Shikamaru frozen in place. Naruto was…crying. Was that even possible? "Naruto? Are you okay?" Shikamaru ran over as he spoke and placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. The white haired boy looked up at him with red rimmed eyes and couldn't even muster up a fake smile. He just looked back down. "Naruto, let's get you out of the hallway. It's not that bad. Victories aren't supposed to be emotional. Only defeats are." Naruto chuckled at the shadow user's choice of words.

"I'm not crying over that battle. I'm crying over what an idiot I've been for the way that I've lived my life," Naruto said as he stood up. Shikamaru watched the boy warily. Naruto was known as mentally unstable by most shinobi. "I used to live as a child from suicide attempt to suicide attempt without thinking about it. People were afraid of me because of my lifestyle, so I don't have friends." Naruto looked at Shikamaru. "I've always wondered why I was alone." Naruto's voice was suddenly very child-like and full of loneliness. He shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut. "Shikamaru, do you think I'm a monster like everybody else?" Shikamaru looked at the crying boy and didn't know what to say. He was never a good friend of Naruto's, but he knew that the scarred boy had it rougher.

"No," Shikamaru said. He watched Naruto smiled as he let out a sigh. The next match was probably about to start up soon. "We should get going if we want to watch Sasuke fight Gaara." At the mention of Gaara, Naruto nodded and stepped away from the wall. Shikamaru smirked. "You look horrible." Naruto looked at his ripped clothes and nodded. He silently followed Shikamaru up the stairs and into a gory mess. Blood dripped from the ceiling, and a piece of someone's liver dropped and made a splash. Gaara stood in the center, unmarked by the blood. Naruto cautiously stepped in front of Shikamaru with a serious face. The genius let Naruto do the talking.

"Sabaku no Gaara, I'm going to ask you to step down and come with me under the orders of a member of Assassin Squad Thirty," Naruto said. His voice changed from that small, child-like one to one of a seasoned Jonin. Shikamaru chalked it up to be a training side effect. Gaara only looked at the pair before walking passed them. "I see. We'll handle this the tough way. I'm guessing I must report this." The red headed shinobi didn't appear to care because he kept on walking. Naruto started walking as well, but he headed in the opposite direction. Shikamaru rushed after him and stopped him as they stood where Gaara stood as they walked up.

"Are you just going to let him go?" Shikamaru demanded. Naruto nodded and looked away from the blood. That was one thing he never got used to. The sickening smell of blood and shit. "Why? He just killed two people! Two innocent people in cold blood!" Naruto turned around and grabbed Shikamaru's collar. Both of them were shocked for different reasons.

"I can't stop him. Not with you nearby!" Naruto shouted. He let Shikamaru go and sighed. He picked something out of the blood. It was a hitai-ate with the money symbol on it. "They were shinobi. Gambling shinobi. They form bets at every event for a chance at a little cash." Naruto picked up another hitai-ate with the same symbol. He dropped them both back into the red liquid. He didn't seem to notice some of it getting on his clothes or that it was covering his hands. "I should know. I used to be one of them. Shikamaru, they know all the risks of each contestant. They would know all about Gaara, but they do their job with their life on the line. You fail, you die." Naruto stared at an eye floating in a puddle. Shikamaru was doing everything to keep from being sick. "I couldn't stop Gaara with rank anyway because I'm Konoha's pariah while he's the Kazekage's youngest son." Naruto squished the eye with his foot and sighed. What did he do wrong here? Everything was wrong. He did everything wrong. "Don't worry about it. I'll take care of it." Naruto began walking away with Shikamaru in tow. "I've got a powerful secret that'll take good care of him. He won't walk away unpunished. Don't worry." Shikamaru nodded and walked beside the younger boy. He had to trust him.

ICECOLD

Naruto trailed after Sakura as they chased after Sasuke and Gaara while Shikamaru stayed behind at the first sign of an enemy trailing them. Inside him, he could feel the demon beating on the cage bars. It was becoming extremely painful. Sakura was following Pakkun's nose, and Naruto followed his own. He calculated why his demon was acting up. Gaara's demon was probably on an old rival, and the host used the demon chakra all the time. The chakra was what was affecting him.

"Up ahead!" Naruto announced. They broke threw a cluster of branches and found Sasuke and a partially transformed Gaara. Naruto took a step back as he felt the power of the demon chakra. He felt the Kyuubi going crazy and starting to send out his own chakra. His entire body was starting to shake, and he couldn't hear the words that Gaara and others were saying. Gaara was quick in capturing Sasuke and Sakura within a giant sand hand. Naruto felt like getting sick as he saw one of their missions gone wrong. He growled and allowed the Kyuubi to control him. Everything in his mind turned to dark endless drop. The world around him seemed safer.

Sasuke was forced into watching his teammate turn into a miniature Kyuubi with four tails wiping behind it. The chakra coming off it was frightening and made Sasuke shake. Sakura was unconscious next to him and was feeling the effects. Sasuke felt ready to puke. Was this really his teammate? His mind was running on backup power as he watched the demons battle it out. In the end, Naruto overpowered Gaara with eight tails, but the sand shinobi was able to deliver a cut to Naruto's right eye. Gaara changed back into normal as Naruto looked around. Sasuke barely saw a white haired man jumping out of the trees and planting a paper seal on Naruto's forehead. The demon dissolved into Naruto with his mouth opened in a silent scream and red skin that looked burned.

"Don't worry, brats. You won't remember a thing," the man said. He knocked out Sasuke and looked around him. His gaze stopped at the tree across from him. He knew Temari was hidden there. "I don't think I have to worry about you. Just take your brother and go." Temari and Kankuro silently did as they were told. Gaara was unconscious, so it was easy. They sped away from the sight, and Gaara woke up about a mile away from the battlefield. He looked at his siblings.

"Thank you," Gaara mumbled before he went back into the unconscious world. The demon didn't resurface or anything. Temari and Kankuro were shocked as they placed Gaara against a tree truck. What the heck did Uzumaki Naruto do to their little brother? Kankuro worriedly looked at Temari, who was unsure about her next decision. They picked Gaara back up and carried him the rest of the way to the border. Baki was there waiting for them.

"Damn it, Minato. What do you think happened?" Jiraiya asked the air back at the battlefield. He looked over at now unconscious Naruto. The skin was healing up, so it would be safe to transport him soon. The kid's face was bleeding though. Gaara's blow created a cut going from Naruto's hairline to his jaw while going to the right eye. The eye seemed okay, but the cut wasn't healing. "Great job, kid." Jiraiya quickly summoned a medium sized frog and took Team Seven back to the village. He was careful to avoid moving Naruto more than he had too. The kid was going to be in a lot of pain.

ICECOLD

Naruto woke up to bright white lights and groaned. He couldn't remember if his apartment had lights above his bed. The scent of sterile hit him like a ton of bricks. That scent meant one thing. He was in the hospital. Naruto forced himself to sit up through the extreme pain. He noted that he was covered in bandaged from his toes to his neck. There were also bandages covering the right half of his face. He remembered where Gaara cut him, and it must've scarred. Naruto sighed and winced. His ribs hurt. He looked around and was surprised at the sight of a few get well cards and a vase of flowers. It surprised him because he knew he had no friends.

"A lot of people were worried about you," a musical voice said. Naruto looked at the doorway to see Kurenai smiling at him. He didn't think she knew he was in the hospital. "Shikamaru told me about what happened after your match in the hall. He was afraid for your safety." Kurenai walked over to the bed as Naruto felt like his stomach was hollow. "Don't you think you deserve happiness in your life?" Naruto felt his heart tightened. He loved Kurenai ever since she slightly befriended him when he was four. He had told her so on the arena floor, and she acted no different since he came up from the grave.

"Monsters don't deserve happiness. It then becomes nothing more than a simple unattainable dream," Naruto said coldly. He looked away from her; he didn't want to see her sadness. "I don't truly understand happiness yet. I used to think that the suicide attempts were my form of happiness, but then came the life and death battles that make everything feel alive. I thought the rush was happiness." Naruto knew he was confusing. Heck, he was even confused. "You don't understand!" He couldn't let his eye give him away. His blue eye showed longing, envy, and hurt. Kurenai took his hand and smiled at him. Naruto felt the heat rush to his face.

"Naruto, let me help you reach that once unattainable dream," Kurenai said. Naruto stared at her with shock. His mouth hung slightly open. Naruto quickly recovered with a grin. Kurenai let go of his hand and pulled a scroll out of her pocket. "A courier asked me to give you this. He mentioned it was important." Naruto's eye narrowed at the scroll's bright orange boarders. He took it and unsealed it. It took him barely a glance to know that he was being sent alone. "What is it?" She knew she probably shouldn't ask, but the look in Naruto's eye was concerning. The white haired boy rolled out of the bed and started going through the cupboards. "Your clothes were burned because of the demon chakra. Kakashi brought you some." Kurenai figured it was a mission as Naruto pulled out the clothes. He took off his hospital gown, and she turned away. "What do they want you to do?" Naruto paused as he started removing all the bandages. She was allowed to know, so he continued. He finished and pulled on his clothes.

"It's just a regular S-classed mission. I should be back in a week if my math is still the same," Naruto said as he pulled on his dark grey cargo pants. He didn't seem to care that Kurenai was still in the room throughout this. He looked at her and smirked. It didn't take him long to have his dark shirt on along with all his standard pouches. Kurenai wouldn't look at him though. "I'm dressed." Kurenai looked at him and sighed. Naruto was only a twelve-year-old boy, and, though it was hard to forget that sometimes, it didn't change the facts. S-classed missions were for ANBU and high Jonin. "Kurenai, it's just a small assassination. Nothing I haven't done before. Don't worry about me too much. I'm a shinobi, so I must complete my duty to Konoha. We can't let the other villages see us weakened." Naruto searched his pockets and found his prize. A brand new black lighter and a pack of his favorite cigarettes. "Founder sure knows his stuff." Naruto looked at Kurenai and knew she wasn't happy. He sighed as he grabbed his zori. He started putting them on. "I'll come back. I always come back. We did this stuff all the time, so I can't let the village down now." Kurenai looked at him as he stood straight. He looked old.

"Naruto, I'm not worried about the mission type," Kurenai said. She hated the truth. Naruto was an assassin at heart. "When you battled Gaara, the demon chakra brought the Kyuubi out of you. You were lucky to have lived! There are people worrying about. I worried about you the entire time you were in here. Three days! You talk about those jumps as if they're not a big deal. Dying is a big deal when you're still a child!" Naruto understood and nodded. He looked her in the eye without a single emotion on his face. His blue eyes felt like ice going through to her very soul.

"I'm not a child anymore, Kurenai. I traded toys and childhood for weapons and adulthood. I'm a Konohagakure shinobi. I can't afford to allow anyone to see me in my weakest," Naruto said. He put away his cigarettes without taking one out. "Besides, I really need this mission. My apartment was destroyed." Naruto walked over to her. "I promise my safe return. I'll see you later." He kissed her cheek and grinned. "See you." He disappeared in a swirl of minty smoke. Kurenai wasn't surprised. He wasn't going to walk out of here the normal way, and he wasn't going to retire from the shinobi life breathing.

**How was that?**


	3. Chapter Three: Bipolar Feelings

**Still rewriting. Fair warning, due to this being AU, most of the characters are OOC.**

**Oh, the italics are Naruto's thoughts. The bold print is Kyuubi's voice. Bold italics are days.**

**Disclaimer: Truthfully, I don't own Naruto.**

**Chapter Three: Bipolar Feelings**

Where did he go wrong? Naruto coughed up blood just before he failed to block a punch to his face. His opponent, Uchiha Itachi, was dominating their battle with little effort. Naruto swayed and stumbled to stand. He wiped his mouth and kept seeing double of everything. It became too much, and his knees gave out. Itachi wasn't finished though as Naruto collapsed to the ground. He walked over and picked up the younger boy by his hair. Yelping, Naruto glared up at the man he was sure would kill him for just staring. Itachi smirked and stared without the sharingan.

"How was the assassination, Naruto?" Itachi asked carefully. He was trying to learn something from him. Naruto knew it, but he figured he'd play along to stay alive. He wasn't completely sure of what Itachi wanted or why the fishy guy left without even attempting a fight. Naruto looked around the forest clearing to avoid the question. Itachi yanked hard on the snowy hair, making Naruto yelp. "Answer me!" Naruto wasn't sure he could think properly now.

"Easy kill! The guy was easy to kill!" Naruto stuttered out. He looked away from Itachi and threw up. The Uchiha released his hair in disgust and nodded. "Why don't you just finish me off? Finish what you started!" Naruto was on the verge of a mental breakdown. He stared up at Itachi with murderous eyes. "You used to be my only friend in that hell hole! Why don't you just finish what you started that night!" Itachi smirked and looked at the younger boy. Naruto was shaking.

"I'm going to show you the truth," Itachi said, grabbing Naruto's shirt collar. Out of instinct, Naruto squirmed and grabbed the hand holding him. His eyes pleaded for Itachi not to. "For seventy-two hours, you're going to relive my life as it was, not as the lie people made it to be." Naruto's eyes widened as he was pulling into the Tsukuyomi. He screamed and was unconscious within seconds. The Uchiha dropped the limp body and pulled out a paper seal. He placed it on Naruto's forehead and watched it disappear into the skin. "I'm going to finish what I started four years ago, Naruto. Just wait." Itachi disappeared as Naruto's body twitched.

ICECOLD

Three days late was something unheard of on Naruto's missions. Kakashi and Kurenai waited at the gates for any sign of the boy. The gates opened, and Naruto stumbled in, holding his stomach and shaking terribly. His eyes were what scared them the most. They were wide and lifeless. They both rushed over to him after seeing him almost fall. Answers were needed. He caught their movements and looked at them. He pulled out a kunai and held it out in front of them to keep them back. Kurenai was instantly reminded of that famous memory. He didn't look scared though.

"Leave me the hell alone!" Naruto screamed. His voice was hoarse. He soundly like he spent several days screaming his heart out. "Don't ever come near me again! I'll kill you!" Naruto couldn't stop shaking and was panting. His eyes eventually rolled to the back of his head as he collapsed at their feet. Kakashi knelt down to check his pulse and was relieved to find he was still alive. Kurenai recognized something about his eyes. He had the look of a powerful genjutsu side-effect. It had to be an Uchiha genjutsu from the sharingan. No doubt about it.

"Kakashi, we better get him to the hospital. A medic should be able to help him better than we can," Kurenai said. She was lying to herself about the medic. The only skilled medic that could help with removing the remnants of the genjutsu would be Tsunade, and she wasn't going to suddenly show up anytime soon. She refused to believe the rumors of Jiraiya going on a mission to get her with Naruto. "We don't have the training for his injuries." Kakashi nodded and picked up the still boy. Time was running out extremely quick for Naruto.

ICECOLD

The hospital released Naruto as soon as he woke up because of lack of training to treat him. He walked the streets with wary eyes. Everywhere he looked, he saw the dead waving and smiling at him. He saw past targets joking with each other, and war casualties he saw in a book eating at a restaurant. Naruto stifled a scream and rushed into an alleyway. He wasn't ready to be slammed into the wall by Uchiha Itachi. Naruto struggled against Itachi's iron grip on his shirt collar. This was bad.

"Naruto, remember what I told you on your sixth birthday. I gave you a package to keep safe," Itachi said. Naruto stilled his struggling and looked at the traitorous man. He tried to shuffle through the memories but failed. "That package will become extremely important in deciding your fate. I need it. Where is it?" Naruto gulped and looked away. Itachi angrily slammed him against the wall again. "Where is it!" Naruto winced and held down a whimper. Itachi gave up and let the boy go. "Waste of time." Itachi turned away, but Naruto grabbed his ankle. The older man glared down at the boy.

"Why are you doing this?" Naruto asked. He was extremely confused as he looked up at the man. Past targets stood around them and were cheering for something. He couldn't stop the shaking. "Where is the Itachi I knew? Why do you want a package that was full of child toys?" Itachi kicked Naruto in the side of the head, causing the shaking boy to let go. "Why are you doing this?" Naruto wished away the illusions, but they wouldn't leave. He looked at Itachi with hopeless eyes.

"Maybe you'll get an answer next time, Naruto," Itachi said. He walked out of Naruto's reached and smirked. "Just keep trying." He disappeared using the technique his cousin was famous for. Naruto growled and forced himself to stand. He whipped his hand at one of the hallucinations and watched them dissolve. He walked out of the alley, watching over his shoulder, and he didn't see Kurenai until he walked into her. Her face held one of worry.

"What was Itachi doing in the village?" Kurenai asked. Naruto looked away from her and shrugged. He didn't want her to see the lifelessness in his eyes. "Naruto, you're aware that it's considered traitorous to speak with Itachi on friendly terms! You'll be a traitor for withholding information on Itachi as well. They'll kill you, Naruto." Her voice was just whisper that Naruto was able to catch. She kept her voice that way to keep Naruto out of trouble that was unneeded.

"Kurenai, what he wants is something that deals with my past. I'm not going to give it to him, and I'm not Uchiha Itachi's friend. You have nothing to worry about because I'm loyal only to Konoha," Naruto said. He tried to walked away, but Kurenai put a hand on his shoulder. "Let me go." His voice was darker. "I'm not that little idiot that came back from the dead. I'm not that pathetic boy you saved. I'm never going to be them again." Naruto wouldn't look at her as he spoke. He had to cut away from her because Itachi wasn't going to let this die.

"Then who is this Uzumaki Naruto?" Kurenai asked. She stared at his back and never understood the weight it held. She watched him shake from something. He was just scared of putting his precious people in danger, confused on his loyalties, and abused and broken. This boy in front of her was suddenly a stranger that she would never know. She frowned and had trouble seeing the boy who would smile at her and tell her he loved her. She watched him change into a boy that was strong enough to take care of himself and the world if he tried.

"Me? I'm no one. Just like you said. I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I will always be the village pariah and the Kyuubi vessel. I'm just another faceless Genin of Konoha," Naruto said without emotion. He stopped shaking. "Kurenai, this'll be the last time we speak." Naruto meant every word, but he prayed she was too shocked to catch the pain underneath them. He walked away without looking back at her once. "And this time, I promise you nothing. Promises are nothing more than lies." Kurenai watched him disappear within the crowd and knew he wasn't coming back.

ICECOLD

Naruto spent most of his time ignoring anything Jiraiya said that didn't deal with training. He was silent throughout most of the trip and only talked when questioning about Tsunade. Jiraiya could see the lack of sleep and jumpiness Naruto had. He didn't know how to help the boy as his mind was slowly being eaten away. The scent of mint was extremely strong on the kid as he smoked about his entire pack the first night. What Jiraiya didn't know was how horrible Naruto felt.

"Kid, Tsunade-hime should be able to fix you up," Jiraiya said. He paused and looked at the smoking boy. He shouldn't have bought the several packs for the boy. "I guess I can teach you the Rasengan until then." He activated the jutsu and caught Naruto's complete attention. It was a change of pace. Naruto listened to every word Jiraiya said about what he was to do, but he didn't ask a single question or comment on anything. He fell into a silence when he started practicing on rubber balls. "Where do your loyalties lie, kid?" Jiraiya noticed Naruto flinching at those words before he shrugged.

Tsunade was getting drunk at a small restaurant when they found her. Naruto didn't bother asking if he could join her at her table. He just slide into the booth and got close to the window. Jiraiya smacked the backside of his head for being rude as he started a conversation with Tsunade. Something about Orochimaru and the Hokage. Naruto ignored them and stared out the window. He was trying to get Tsunade's assistant, Shizune, to stop staring at him like he was a test subject.

"Where did you get your facial scars?" Shizune asked suddenly. Naruto's eyes flickered to staring at her with a suspicion. "Not the whisker ones. The other ones." Naruto unconsciously touched the newest scar on his face. It was as if that touch would help him remember every detail, but he shrugged. Jiraiya smacked him again, and Naruto glared at his sensei.

"My neck scar is a self-inflicted wound. I tried to kill myself during an escape from Konoha when I was four. It failed horribly when someone saved my sorry hide," Naruto said, rubbing the scar. He didn't really want to talk to these people because they were friends. He wasn't included in the circle. He traced the scar on his cheek that matched Sakura and Sasuke's cheeks. "This is from an infiltration mission gone wrong. My team was misinformed. Founder even had a hard time getting us out of the place." He felt Tsunade staring at him too now. Naruto tapped his newest one. "My eye should be blind, but the Kyuubi saved it. I was fighting the Shukaku, and he got me. I didn't feel a thing, but I'm sure he did." Naruto quietly pulled out his cigarettes and started making little cigarette towers. He only sighed when Tsunade said something about the Hokage job being for fools.

"Smoking will give you lung cancer. It'll kill you," Tsunade said, glaring at him. She went to grab his cigarettes, but he slammed a kunai into the table before she could get to them. He looked at her with dull eyes that were daring her to challenge him. She didn't take the bait like he expected, but it didn't matter. She continued to glare at him. "Children shouldn't smoke." Naruto shrugged.

"I'm not a child, you old drunk. Besides, cigarettes are slow killers and make some pretty good jutsu. Being a shinobi though? That'll kill you faster," Naruto said. He put his cigarettes away quickly before anymore grabs were made. "Jiraiya-sama, are we seriously recruiting this old bat as our Hokage? I could make a better Hokage, and I dislike most of Konoha." Jiraiya noticed the anger flaring in Tsunade's eyes. She was going to make the kid regret his words. "She's nothing more than a selfish princess running away from her problems." Tsunade lost it.

"Outside now, brat!" Tsunade shouted. Naruto smirked and got up. His eyes spoke nothing as he walked outside with his tablemates. Jiraiya suddenly remembered Naruto's mental handicap. The kid was probably exhausted. He had to find a way to stop this before she destroyed Naruto. "I'll only need my one finder to defeat a lowly Genin like you." Naruto looked at her and backed up slightly. He was surrounded again by past targets calling for blood. He shook them away and pulled out a kunai. With a smirk, he charged at her. Within a few seconds, Tsunade got the kunai away from, flicked off his hitai-ate, and flicked him back. He watched his vision sway and the enemies return. "Before you black out, why are you angry with me? I told Jiraiya no." Naruto started shaking as the enemies were coming closer. They weren't real. He looked at her only as the kunai came down in front of him.

"The only person who showed me kindness first was the old man! I won't let you, no matter what you said, defile what that old man and asshole Yondaime did!" Naruto shouted. He closed his right eye because the eye was starting to trouble him. It didn't matter anymore. He was going to show her that fools might become Hokage, but they're the strongest of the strong. "It's my goal to surpass my father!" Naruto activated his incomplete Rasengan and charged.

"What did the Yondaime do in his short time that was so special?" Tsunade asked. She noted that Naruto looked terrible. She suspected that something was wrong with his mind. It was either a Genjutsu or the Kyuubi. She couldn't tell because he looked extremely dangerous at the moment. His left eye made him look like he was on drugs, and he was shaking. His charge was suicidal at best.

"The Yondaime created me!" Naruto shouted. He threw out his arm with the Rasengan, but, with her one finger, Tsunade made a fissure in the street that Naruto fell into. He sighed as the jutsu blew him back. He didn't have the energy to get back up. "I give up. Jiraiya-sama, is it rude to pass out after a battle?" The boy didn't give Jiraiya the chance to reply because he was already out. Tsunade walked over and tried to heal what was wrong with his head. A paper seal materialized on his forehead. Tsunade handed it to Jiraiya when he was dragged over by Shizune.

"Naruto had met up with Uchiha Itachi on an S-classed solo mission. I know that Itachi used the Tsukuyomi on him and must've used the paper seal afterwards. He woke up on his own and returned back to Konoha different. Kakashi and Kurenai told me that he was usually calm and collected. Can you heal him?" Jiraiya asked. Tsunade nodded and continued to work. When she stopped, Naruto's eyes shot open. The right one bled into a design for a second before returning to sky blue. Only Tsunade and Jiraiya recognized it though. Naruto groaned. "He won't reveal anything he saw. It's upsetting because Kakashi told me that Naruto was starting to warm up to people again." Tsunade was shocked to see Naruto looking at her. That was when she made the bet with him after scolding him.

ICECOLD

_**Day One**_

Naruto walked through the village to find the perfect training spot. He would show that old lady something even if he didn't give a damn about the Hokage position. He would never tell anyone that because they could use it against him. He stopped and growled. There weren't many people because most were drinking, gambling, or working. He couldn't find the perfect place to train. Closing his eyes, he took deep breathes. It was calming until something tapped his arm. Opening one eye, he looked at the person. It was an old lady, hunched over from years of bending.

"Excuse me, young man, do you mind helping me?" the old lady asked. Naruto left his right eye closed, for it was bothering him again, but he turned to look at her. She looked fragile. "My cat, Minato, is stuck in the tree. He's terrified of heights, but some mean children chased him up the tree. Please help me." Naruto sighed and decided on what's the worst that could happen?

"Sure, I'll help," Naruto said. The old lady took his hand and led him to the tree, which wasn't far away. Naruto looked up at one of the higher branches to see a pure yellow cat clinging to the branch. This was going to be so easy. Naruto gathered chakra into his feet and began walking up the side of the tree. He reached the cat, Minato, and chuckled. He was super cool now. Look at him, saving some stupid cat thanks to some stupid kids. "Come here, Minato-kun." The blonde cat looked at him and jumped up onto Naruto's face. Screaming, Naruto fell off the tree and land on his back in the dirt. The old lady got the cat off and was soothing it as Naruto sat up. "Damn cat. Caused me a lot of hell. I should've said no and left the fucking bastard." Suddenly, Naruto felt an evil aura right behind him. He looked over his shoulder at the old lady, who was now wielding a paper fan.

"Young men shouldn't curse!" the old lady said. She smacked Naruto with the paper fan hard on the back of the head. Idiot Naruto went on swearing as she smacked his head. Soon, he grew tired of sitting and began running away. The old lady kept smacking the back of his head with that stupid fan until he climbed a tree. "Get down here and face your punishment, young man." Naruto stuck his tongue out at her.

"Come up and get me, bitch," Naruto said. It wasn't nice to say, but she couldn't hurt him. A cracking noise could be heard. Naruto groaned as the branch he was sitting on broke, sending him to the ground. The old lady smacked his head over and over again as he sent a spur of curses to whatever gods there were. Minato just sat on his stomach with what looked like a grin to Naruto.

When night fell, Naruto traveled back to the hotel. He looked like he was chewed up by something and spat back out. He had a giant headache, claw marks all over him, mud, twigs sticking out of his clothes, and, finally, a yellow feline following him. Jiraiya almost fell over laughing on how bad Naruto looked from just training.

"What the hell happened to you? What's with the cat?" Jiraiya asked. He controlled his laughing as Naruto looked at the pervert. He was thinking about some excuse, but he didn't have any. "So?" The damn hermit was impatient. Naruto sighed and sat down on his bed. Minato curled up at his pillow.

"This cat was stuck in a tree, and it was honorable to get him out. An old lady didn't like my filthy mouth and hit me. I ruined a group of kids soccer game by accidentally stealing the ball, so they chased me with branches and rocks. I gave the ball back, but they didn't care. I was their new game. I didn't even get one minute of training in," Naruto groaned. He fell back and went to sleep. Minato meowed and licked Naruto's cheek. Naruto opened one eye. "Oh, he's my ninja cat. He's very resourceful too." Naruto situated himself to where he could sleep without twigs poking him. Jiraiya continued to laugh.

_**Day Two**_

Naruto changed his clothes and walked out of the hotel room. Minato was right there in his shadow. Damn. How was he supposed to take care of a cat when he had trouble caring for himself? More high ranking missions were his only option. That and a part time job. How much did a little cat cost anyway? He glared at the cat with his single eye as the bright light was bothering his other one. Minato just meowed and jumped up onto his shoulder.

"You know you're fucking annoying, but I guess I can get use to you as long as you're useful," Naruto said. He continued walking to a spot he found the day before while being chased. "I've got to win a bet, you see. Some old hag is a choice for being the Hokage, a high rank. I don't even care about the fucking rank. You don't care if I swear, right?" Naruto waited for the cat's reply, which was a meow. "I knew you were cool. Even got the Yondaime's first name!" Naruto's eyes saddened a bit. "I respect him during the war against Iwa, but, as a Hokage, he's an asshole. I hate his guts, but I respect him all the same. I'm messed up." Minato yawned and licked Naruto's cheek. In return, the snowy haired boy petted the animal. He smelled smoke and fire in the air as they walked. A three story inn was burning up. Some villagers were pouring buckets of water on the flames, but it was no use. The men were busy rescuing people that were inside. It looked like everyone was out.

"My little boy is on the third floor still! Somebody help!" a lady shrieked. Naruto noticed everyone ignoring her. He walked over and handed her Minato. "Sir, thank you so much." Naruto walked to the inferno and lit his cigarette with the flames. Something was wrong with him if he was playing hero all of a sudden. He didn't want to be anyone's hero, but he wanted to save a child who was left to die. Just like him. He disappeared into the flames without caring if he was burned. He felt nothing but a fire within his soul to reach the right floor. Dust flew into his eyes, for he had to open the other one.

"Help!" The voice was young. It must've been the child. Naruto quickly located the stairs and saw what he feared. They were weak, but he had to take the chance. Gathering chakra into his feet, Naruto walked horizontally on the wall. His shoes were starting to melt from the heat, and he could smell his burnt clothing. This was a pain in the ass. The second floor was extremely weak. Naruto walked with caution and knew he would have to find another way out. The floor suddenly gave underneath him, but he saved himself by grabbing the edge.

"I can't believe I'm this crazy," Naruto muttered. He jumped back up and continued on. The stairs to the third floor were safer, but Naruto still walked on the wall. He listened for the voice and walked to the last door on the floor. The doorknob was too hot to touch, so Naruto kicked the door down. Inside was worse than he thought. A piece of the roof had collapsed in the corner. The child's voice was coming from that corner. "Damn it. I'm so stupid for thinking that I could be a hero."

"Help! My leg hurts!" the boy cried. Naruto walked over and looked through an opening at a child with bright green eyes. "Help me, please." Naruto spat his cigarette away from the child and looked at where the boy's leg was pinned. Taking out a kunai, he cut around the area and released the roof piece from the leg. Now the rest needed to be moved. That was the hard part. Naruto carefully made sure that it didn't crash through the floor. The child's grimy face looked at Naruto with such hope that the Genin knew he was a hero.

"I need you to hold on tight to me. We're going to jump, okay?" Naruto asked. The boy nodded as he was picked up. His dirty hands held on tight to Naruto's shirt, and he buried his face into the shirt as well. Naruto sighed and looked at the window. It was the only way. Shielding the child with his arms and some chakra, Naruto crashed through the window and fell to the ground. He heard screaming from below, and then, he felt the pain of connecting his back to the ground. Several bones snapped, and Naruto didn't cry out. He looked up at the blue sky and sighed. Faces of the people were surrounding him while something licked his face. He couldn't stay awake anymore.

When he woke up, he was in a hospital room and night had fallen. Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Shizune were there waiting for him to wake up. He groaned and moved to sit up. Shizune gently tried to push him back down, but he smacked her hands away. Tsunade held back from clobbering as Jiraiya smirked. He couldn't believe his student. Minato meowed from his place next to Naruto's pillow.

"Damn, kid. You should be paralyzed or something," Jiraiya said. Naruto shrugged and looked at his hospital gown. "You had some major internal bleeding, third degree burns, and broken bones. One bone was your skull. You rescued Fire Daimyo's son from the fire though, and that kid is making you his personal hero. When you're older, he wants you to be his guard. The only thing the kid suffered was a broken leg. Great job, Naruto." Naruto missed his cigarettes, but he would get over it. Where was the guard? It didn't matter anymore.

"Idiot, why the hell did you jump?" Tsunade demanded. Naruto looked at her with a single blue eye. His other was painful to open now. "Your eyes had a lot of dust in them. I cleaned them out. So why the hell would you jump from three stories?" Naruto's gaze pierced through Tsunade's as Minato climbed onto his lap. The boy began to pet the creature with a bandaged hand.

"If you had remained in the village, you would know about my survival from jumping from the Hokage's Monument. My finest jump. Took several months of planning. My survival was purely thanks to the Kyuubi shielding my vitals with chakra. My final jump was the best though. Strange, huh? I've been jumping for so long. I wanted to touch the sky with each jump because the sky was so beautiful," Naruto said. He knew he had so many reasons to jump or his suicide attempts. Touching the sky was like reaching an impossible dream. Tsunade's eyes darkened as if she was afraid of that habit returning once more. Naruto chuckled, but it was empty. "I'm done with jumping. It was my only way out this time. I'm tired, so I guess I'll just go back to sleep." Naruto rolled over onto his side so his back faced them. Minato yawned and curled up in his arms. The visitors left silently.

_**Day Three**_

After battling against the hospital staff, Naruto was released by noon. The first thing he did was head straight for the training area he found two days earlier. Minato cheerfully followed him. Luckily nothing happened along the way. Once at the training area, Naruto began to focus on bettering the Rasengan.

"You know what, Minato?" Naruto asked during a break. The cat only meowed. "I'm a hero now. Maybe Konoha would hear about it and stop looking at me like I'm a demon." The wind sent a nice breeze, and Naruto laughed. "I am a demon. I like my title, so oh well." Naruto lied on the soft grass and closed his eyes. There was a snap of a stick, and the snowy boy was back on his feet. A young girl ran over to him, crying. "Oh great. What's wrong?" The little girl looked up at him.

"Some mean boys took my teddy and are chasing me," the girl said. As if on cue, three teenage boys stumbled into the area. The one, most likely the leader, held a brown bear to taunt her with. His grin was pissing Naruto off. He glared at them, but it only caused them to laugh. The leader stepped forth.

"Let us through, kid, and we won't hurt you. You have no chance in a fight with us," the leader said. He spat at Naruto, who only backed up. The snowy haired Genin wanted so badly to melt this guy, but atlas, Tsunade stole his cigarettes. Damn her. He would just have to result in taijutsu. "Move, brat!" The leader charged in with a punch. Naruto grabbed the fist and growled.

"Aren't you lucky I'm in a good mood? Minato, attack," Naruto said. The blonde cat was a runaway ninja cat. He could transform into the size of a full grown male tiger. "Don't kill." Minato had fun scaring his new toys. Naruto snatched the bear before something happened to it. The little girl hugged him tightly. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto." His attempted at being nice to someone was going okay. The little girl beamed with joy. She smiled up at him.

"I'm Yuki Mikomi! You're going to be my future husband!" the little girl shouted. Naruto was shocked. This was a little strange. Wasn't she afraid of him? He looked scary to the children in Konoha, so what made her different? He sat down on the grass and watched the small group run away while Minato returned to normal. The stupid cat went over to the little girl.

"Aren't you afraid of me? I mean, I'm scary looking," Naruto said. The little girl looked at him and grinned. She got up and stood right in front of him. "So?" She kissed Naruto's face scar. A simply innocent kiss from a five-year-old girl.

"Why? You look strong with the scars. More powerful," Mikomi said. She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug. Naruto spent the rest of the day showing off to this little girl who wasn't afraid of him. As the day grew short, she yawned. Naruto picked her up, and she told him where she lived. He put Mikomi down at her porch. She smiled and kissed his cheek. Naruto patted her head and kissed her forehead. "You'll remember to marry me, right?" Hope was in her eyes.

"Yeah, I'll remember. I'll see you when you're older, okay?" Naruto asked. Mikomi nodded and hugged him once more. This time, he returned the hug. "Goodnight, Mikomi-chan." The little girl disappeared into the house, and Minato brushed against his leg. It was time to go home too. Naruto walked back to the hotel with a smile.

"Anything happen today, Naruto?" Jiraiya asked. Naruto ignored him and got ready for bed. Tomorrow would be a training only day. He only had three more days to go and only one day of training in. Flopping down on his bed, Naruto was instantly asleep. "Stupid kid. Never tells anything anymore." Jiraiya rolled over and went to bed himself.

_**Day Four**_

Naruto and Minato went back to the training ground and found Mikomi waiting for them. She smiled at Naruto, who could only give her a half one. It didn't matter to her whether his smile was bad. She loved his smile. She said so the day before many times. Naruto took a seat on the ground next to her, and she sensed his question.

"My daddy said that I should support your way of life. He also said that we better keep in contact, or he'll kill you. I made you lunch as a way to support you," Mikomi said, showing two bento boxes wrapped in a single cloth. Naruto smiled and patted the child's head. The thing with Naruto and Mikomi was that she talked because he loved listening. He also knew he was in love with Kurenai, but he could love more women right? Just as along as he cleared it with Kurenai.

He began training while Minato played with Mikomi. Naruto knew he couldn't slack off just because some little girl found something good in him. His thoughts turned to another girl who found good in him. His training stopped as he looked up at the sky. There weren't any clouds that day, and he raised his hand to try to touch the expanding blue.

"Naruto-kun?" Mikomi asked. Minato meowed gently. Naruto blinked and looked over at her. She looked frightened. The look of most children from Konoha. "Are you okay? You're bleeding." Naruto looked at his side, where a piece of glass had sliced him open two days earlier. A large blood stain was growing.

"Yes, Mikomi. I'm fine. Tomorrow, can we just have lunch together? I'll send Minato to your place to protect and play with you," Naruto said softly. He didn't want her to catch his weakness. He had to remain strong. Mikomi nodded, and Naruto went back to training. The wound was forgotten, for he didn't want her to see his scars if he wrapped it.

After he walked Mikomi home, he returned to the training spot. He sighed and began to train more underneath the moonlight. Minato watched silently until Naruto created many craters around the area from the incomplete Rasengan. Around midnight, Naruto screamed out and hit the ground. He didn't care that his fingers were completely numb or that his skin smelled funny. He finally realized something that he was so confused about. He was afraid of hurting his loved ones.

_**Day Five**_

Mikomi wasn't able to come to see him train that morning because she had caught the chicken pox from her little brother. Naruto promised that he would come back at noon to eat lunch, and he left Minato behind to watch over her. Her mother had watched as Naruto made sure Mikomi was comfortable and safe, but Mikomi's mother could see hesitation in his movements. She chose to keep quiet about it.

Naruto destroyed a tree that had once been a guard against an old lady's paper fan until the branch broke. He thought of his last couple days. Life was funny. One day, he's beaten up over a small curse word while the next, he's some boy's hero. He didn't want to be the beaten child or the hero. He wanted to be Fox and to fight alongside Flower, Flame, and Founder. It was in that little group that he belonged because Flower and Flame wouldn't let him fall while Founder stood quietly in the background, making sure of everyone's safety.

"Damn it!" Naruto shouted after he got back from lunch. He continued to practice, but it wouldn't come out right. He was growing frustrated. He kicked at the tree before collapsing. He was exhausted and needed rest. "Minato?" Naruto looked around as the cat came rushing over in his big form. "Good job today." Naruto slowly fell asleep with Minato keeping guard. Jiraiya and Tsunade didn't even notice that Naruto didn't return.

_**Day Six**_

Naruto groaned when he woke up. Minato meowed and licked his face. The cat must've forgotten he was in his bigger form whenever he tried to curl up on Naruto's lap. The snowy haired boy groaned again and pushed the cat off. Minato swung his paw out to playfully bat Naruto's hair, but the boy had to duck to avoid being hit too bad. The cat finally changed back into his regular form and climbed back into Naruto's lap.

"Minato, I have only today and tomorrow," Naruto said. He carried the cat to Mikomi's house, where the little girl was delighted to see them. He made sure she was safe again before turning to leave. Mikomi's mother stopped him. She looked fearful and tired, making Naruto worried.

"Naruto, I'm sorry. Mikomi and you don't have a future because of Mikomi's illness," Yuki-san said. Naruto was confused. The chicken pox were dangerous? "No, not the chicken pox. Mikomi has a disease called cancer in her lungs. She's had a relapse recently, but I don't want her to be hopeful about too much." Naruto nodded and didn't know what to say. Talking to Mikomi was easier, but he couldn't bear asking her about this. "Thank you, Naruto. You made my little girl smile and laugh again." Naruto nodded and took off. He reached the clearing and looked around. He felt like something was missing. He sighed and started training. He blocked out all his thoughts and focused.

"No luck," Naruto said. He shook his head and limped home. He stopped at a store and bought another pack of cigarettes because Tsunade flat out refused him his. He lit one up as he looked up at the full moon. It was like the moon goddess was looking over him. He shook his head again and walked home. Jiraiya found his student passed out on the floor with Minato sleeping comfortably on the bed.

_**Day Seven**_

Naruto groaned as he stretched on the way to Mikomi's. He had to say goodbye that day. He left Minato at the house with a quick hello to the little girl. He nodded at her mother and rushed out of the place. He had to train. Train to be the best. To show that old hag that he could do it. He destroyed the tree by noon and looked up at the sky. It started to rain. Naruto closed his eyes and wished away his troubles. He gave up and headed to Mikomi's. She wanted to have lunch with him.

"Naruto-kun!" Mikomi cheered as he walked in. Minato meowed and batted a paw at him. Yuki-san smiled at him and handed him a towel and one of her husband's shirts. "You look sad. Are you okay?" Naruto paused and looked at the child. He had just walked back in from changing and sat down. "Naruto-kun shouldn't be sad. He's a hero." Mikomi smiled at him, and Naruto found himself smiling back. Something he only did with Kurenai because when he smiled, she was happy.

"I'm homesick," Naruto said. Mikomi frowned and hopped off her chair. She climbed onto his lap and pressed her hand to his bare forehead. She kept frowning. Naruto chuckled and ruffled her hair gently. "I'm not sick like a cold. Homesick is where you miss your home and your family." Mikomi nodded and poked at his whisker marks. She wanted to make sure he was real before returning to her seat. Yuki-san smiled and placed a bowl of ramen in front of the both of them with one for her. "Minato hasn't been too much trouble, has he?" Naruto looked worried. Minato meowed and curled up on his lap.

"He doesn't let Mikomi alone," Yuki-san said, smiling. Naruto nodded and quickly finished his meal. He didn't want to waste too much time here. No more attachments. After about an hour of spending time with Mikomi, Naruto left with Minato at his heels. He went back to training, creating crater after crater before passing out from chakra exhaustion. Minato meowed and ran off to find someone to help Naruto. He brought back Tsunade, who was in the area.

"Is he okay?" Shizune asked. Tsunade looked at the boy she unceremoniously dumped on the bed. He only twitched and didn't move after that. "He looks hurt." Tsunade did a quick medical exam and found the root of the problem. Simple chakra exhaustion. Pathetic kid. She looked away from his angelic, sleeping face and knew she was becoming attached. Like Nawaki and Dan, she wanted to help this kid. "Tsunade-sama, is he okay?" Shizune watched her with worry.

"Just simple chakra exhaustion. He won't be up until the day after tomorrow," Tsunade said. She looked at her assistant and sighed. Shizune was worried about Orochimaru's little talk with them. "I'm going out for a drink. See you later." Tsunade walked by Shizune and knocked her out cold. She didn't look back once as she left the hotel. Minato was confused. What was going on here?

ICECOLD

Naruto woke up to Jiraiya shaking him. He looked around and noticed the sunlight streaming through his window. He jumped out of bed, barely missing knocking Shizune over. He noticed that Tsunade was missing right away and looked at Jiraiya for an explanation. It didn't take them long to hear the story of Tsunade's meeting with Orochimaru and to go search for her. The worst part of the battle for Naruto was watching Tsunade be frightened by the blood and Shizune collapsing. He didn't see Tsunade and Shizune. He saw Flower and Flame. Where was Founder? _It's not real._ Naruto looked at Kabuto and growled. The medic smirked and drew a kunai.

"I always wondered about your skills, Naruto. What made you the perfect assassin?" Kabuto asked. Naruto stood in front of Tsunade and lost all emotion. Tsunade watched in horror as this child became what he was trained to be. Naruto lit a cigarette and rushed through the seals extremely fast. The area was surrounded in green flames. Naruto's eyes held a crazed look.

"Target, it'll be your best interest to quit. I'm known to slaughter," Naruto said. He gathered some of the flames in his hands and threw the fireball at Kabuto. The medic dodged with little ease. The blank face of Naruto spoke of nothing that would give him the edge. "Founder wouldn't be happy I'm doing this. He hates it when I do this." Naruto ran through several more seals and went down on all fours. His canines and nails were longer. "Art of the fox! Cornered animal!" Naruto charged only to be kicked back. The heat was becoming unbearable. His leg gave out from under him. _No choice. Have to use it._ Tsunade watched Kabuto arm himself with a kunai as Naruto summoned a clone. He charged with the clone following. Kabuto stuck out his kunai, and Naruto let it stab him through the palm. He held onto Kabuto's fist as the clone formed the Rasengan in his other hand. "Goodbye!" Naruto pressed the perfect Rasengan into Kabuto's stomach.

"Shit," Kabuto groaned as he flew back into a bolder. He winced as he walked forward. The skin was already healing. Naruto was shocked. This guy was lucky that he wasn't at full capacity. "I'm ashamed of your skills. Nothing more than a Genin over his head." The flames went out like a light. "Ha! Orochimaru doesn't keep me for my medical skills. He keeps me for my healing powers." Naruto smirked when Kabuto spat out blood and fell to the ground. Too much damage and not enough chakra. The victory though was short because Naruto too spat up blood. He was going down for the count. The fall to the ground took forever, and his eyes were closed before he touched the dirt. He was too far gone anyways.

"**What is going on? Why is the darkness spreading? This isn't acceptable! Naruto, get up! What's wrong? Why is the darkness coming?" **the Kyuubi called. Naruto never heard the demon. He was still alive with his heart beat starting to fade. There was a small moment where his heart gave out again. Cooling chakra entered the stilled heart and repaired the damage to get it beating again. He cracked open his eyes to look up at Tsunade. He raised his hurt hand and tried to grasp the necklace. She wasn't paying attention to that.

"I…win," Naruto whispered with a smile. Tsunade nodded and healed the hole in his hand. She took off her prized necklace and put it on him. He would be the final person to wear that necklace because she hoped it wouldn't kill him like Nawaki and Dan. If it did, she'd trust no one else. Naruto missed out on the Sannin battle, but Shizune would fill him in later. He would shrug it off as unimportant and leave the room. That would earn him a talk about respecting women from Jiraiya. Naruto would just shrug and make him even angrier as they entered the restaurant.

"Okay, brat, tell me one thing first. What's a Genin doing on an S-classed solo mission? Where are the Jonin and ANBU?" Tsunade asked. They were as the same restaurant, and Naruto was again staring out the window. His right eye was closed due to it being painful to open. He tried to think of the best reason. His training had to deal with missions that high. Minato sneezed from his spot on Naruto's lap, making Shizune giggle. He looked at her with a sigh.

"The invasion brought us down to low man power. Genin that are fresh out of the academy and academy students are busy assisting in rebuilding and D-ranked missions. The older Genin are taking C-ranked and low B-ranked missions. Chunin are getting B-ranked and low A-ranked ones. Jonin and ANBU get the rest. My teammates and I stand outside that fashion. While our peers were trained for basic missions and worked their way up, we were trained for assassination and S-classed," Naruto stated. He looked back out the window as if looking for something or someone out in the growing crowd. "I barely made it back and was late due to a minor clash with a missing ninja. I needed the pay badly because my apartment was one destroyed in the invasion." Naruto looked back at Tsunade with a smile. "Don't worry. It was just a simple assassination. I've killed tons of people from being part of a Genin assassination squad." The others were a little freaked out because of the childish way Naruto spoke about killing people. The white haired boy sighed and looked at Jiraiya. "So this bratty old lady is now the Hokage?" Jiraiya nodded while Tsunade twitched. "Not the way I pictured the Godaime, but I'll find some way to imagine that Konoha's funds weren't going to gambling debts. We should've picked a better Hokage like Founder!" Tsunade's temper shot off.

"Outside now, brat!" Tsunade shouted. Naruto felt a strange sense of déjà vu, but he went along with it anyways. He grinned as the Sannin held up her index finger once more. "I'm going to only use one finger, brat." Naruto charged this time with only his fists, and, once he got close enough, Tsunade flicked off his hitai-ate with ease. He closed his eyes and prepared for the forehead flicking that never came. Instead, Tsunade kissed his forehead like she did years ago for Nawaki and Dan. "Become a great man someday, alright?" Naruto looked at her grinning face and couldn't help but grin as well.

ICECOLD

On their way back, they stopped by a small inn to relax and forget their waiting problems. Naruto convinced Shizune into showing him a medical jutsu. Minato did as cat do and lay in a warm spot in the inn room while the Sannin went to the inn's bar. Jiraiya drank down his drink and looked up at the plain ceiling in deep though. He never could remember seeing Naruto show a lot of human emotion. So far only happiness and worry came out. The boy was balancing on the edge of being a normal human or being the shell of a human being.

"You know what day I can't wait to see?" Jiraiya asked. He caught Tsunade's attention as the barkeep refilled both their glasses. "The day that Naruto just breaks down. All the emotions he keeps inside of him come out and show themselves. I want to see him cry, laugh, and hate all at once. He doesn't know how good he has it, not being able to feel those emotions. He needs to come back to Earth and become a child before it's too late." Tsunade nodded and took a sip of her drink. "Want to make a bet on it?" Tsunade looked at him with suspicion. "I bet he'll break when he's sixteen and starts noticing girls." Jiraiya grinned, knowing he'd win because of Tsunade's lack of gambling skills.

"I bet within the year," Tsunade said. She took another sip and looked at her old teammate. "He's so close to his breaking point that it won't be long. He's already been through so much." Jiraiya just shrugged. "The bet needs prizes. If I win, you have to stop peeping in the Fire Country for good." Jiraiya's face fell until he realized something. He grinned and looked at her.

"If I'm the winner, you've got to kiss me in front of a crowd of people," Jiraiya said. He almost giggled at the thought of being kiss by his childhood crush. "Tsunade, you better pray that you'll win." Tsunade nodded in agreement. She grabbed the sake bottle that the barkeep brought by because this might be her last drink for awhile. Hiruzen-sensei probably left too many things open for the Fifth.

**Holy crap this was a long chapter. The only other one I think will be about this long is the Sasuke retrieval mission. Reviews are nice. Critiques are better. – Kyuubi no Kitsune0101**


	4. Chapter Four: Betrayal’s Beginning

**Still rewriting. Fair warning, due to this being AU, most of the characters are OOC.**

**Oh, the italics are Naruto's thoughts. The bold print is Kyuubi's voice.**

**Disclaimer: Truthfully, I don't own Naruto.**

**Chapter Four: Betrayal's Beginning**

Naruto was jitter as they walked back to Konoha. Minato wouldn't let him hold him because of all the shaking. All Naruto wanted was to be dismissed to find someone important, but he was dragged to the hospital to see Kakashi and Sasuke. When he was away, Itachi came back for him and battled Kakashi and Sasuke. They both suffered from the Tsukuyomi. Naruto felt bad as he nodded at Sakura, who sat by Kakashi's bed. They had spoken once before about her crush on the Jonin. It was slightly better than her last one, who she cared for like a brother instead. Naruto held Minato and kept shifting his weight from leg to leg as he waited for Tsunade to finish. The blonde woman looked at him finally.

"You're dismissed, but I want you back in my office in three hours!" Tsunade said as Naruto rushed out of there. He put Minato down outside and told the cat to stay put. He sniffed the air once to see if he could catch her scent, but he couldn't. He pulled out a cigarette and quickly lit it as he began to walk away from Minato. He had to say he was sorry to her. He felt terrible for how mean he was to her. His scarred eye stung a bit as it remained closed behind an eye patch Shizune gave to him.

"If I were Kurenai, where would I be?" Naruto wondered aloud. He looked up at the blue sky with a smile. It was so peaceful and helped clear his mind. He blew a smoke ring with a chuckle. He wasn't watching where he was going, so he ended up walking into a dark haired woman. She fell down, and he jumped back. He forced his body to go stiff to prepare for a hit. "I'm really sorry, ma'am." He looked at the woman who was staring right at him with ruby red eyes that were Sharingan. His cigarette fell from his mouth as he grinned and held out his hand.

ICECOLD

"Are you sure about this, Tsunade? It seems dangerous for kids," Jiraiya asked. The Fifth looked at her old teammate before returning to staring at a video screen. Upon her desk were two opened profiles of future legends. They had the making of something beyond Jonin at this point, and it would be a shame to hold them down. She couldn't hold them back any longer. "Who will train them?" Tsunade smirked.

"We will of course. We'll use their weaknesses against them until they're strong. Didn't you say their friendship was a special bond? Something like brothers?" Tsunade asked. Jiraiya nodded and remembered describing the two as potential brothers. He looked at the video screen with a sigh. "They'll become something like brothers when we're through. Send notice out to the other to meet me at my office in about three hours. They can't be late." Tsunade watched Jiraiya leave as she let out a long sigh. She looked at the peaceful sky from her window. "I'm training children to massacre. Lovely." She looked at the unsettling scene on the screen before shutting it off. "No, I'm teaching shinobi to better themselves." That made it easier for her to sleep at night.

ICECOLD

Naruto threw his arms around Kurenai in a giant un-Naruto-like hug with a huge smile. The Jonin was a bit taken back due to his previous behavior, but she soon returned the hug. She could see that the boy was grinning like an idiot as he radiated happiness. There was something different about him though. She couldn't tell if it was the slight warmth in his eye or the fact that his skin wasn't completely warm like before. Something on the mission changed.

"I need to talk to you about some things," Naruto said. His blue eye held all the innocence of a child, but the shadows held the poison of a shinobi. Kurenai missed that innocent look, but if looked strange now. It looked painted there. Something was definitely off about him all of a sudden. "Want to get some dango with me?" Kurenai bit her lip. What if this was her Naruto? "Please." She sighed.

"Sure," Kurenai said. Naruto grinned and took her hand. She allowed this boy to drag her to the shop just because he looked happier. He glanced back at her only once, and Kurenai swore she saw the hurt and pain in his eye. He was completely silent during their walk to the dango stand. They grabbed some seats and quickly ordered. He sighed and looked at her as the waitress left.

"I want to apologize about what happened before I left," Naruto said. He looked sorry, but it didn't explain Itachi being there. "The Itachi thing is a bit messed up, huh?" He scratched the back of his head and looked at the counter. "Before I met you, I met Itachi. He was to follow me around and make sure I didn't jump even though I quit. After I met you, I was put in Itachi's care because the Third thought I would kill myself. Itachi was like the dad I always wanted. He gave me something before he left, and now he wants it back. I won't give it to him though, so I'm not a traitor." Naruto couldn't look her in the eye the entire time because he couldn't stand seeing her hurt of angry.

"Why should I believe that story?" Kurenai asked warily. Naruto sighed and looked over at her. She didn't look angry like he expected. Just hurt. He looked down at his hands and clenched his fists. He broke her trust in him. She was becoming like everyone else. Think he was nothing more than a filthy liar. She had her reasons, but he just felt so angry. A burning feeling settled in his stomach.

"You don't have to believe it if you don't want to," Naruto said. He looked her in the eye and had to stand his ground. "You just have to trust me on this one." The look in his eye made her rethink the entire thing because it was so hurt and pleading. He looked tired. Kurenai sighed and looked away. A blonde cat walked over like he owned the streets and jumped into Naruto's lap with a yawn. "Minato! Why can't you follow orders?" Kurenai looked at the hilarious scene of Naruto holding the cat up and yelling at it with Minato only reacting by batting at Naruto's messy hair with his paw. It was as if the ice melted from this boy in seconds. He sighed and petted the cat's head gently. "This is Minato. A ninja cat. I picked him up from some crazy old lady who beat me with a paper fan. She named him after the famous Yellow Flash because of his flee-on-sight warning!" Kurenai noted that most people called Namikaze Minato the Yondaime, but Naruto used his war nickname instead.

"He's so adorable," Kurenai said with a smile. She took the cat away from Naruto and began to pet him. Minato purred loudly at all the attention he was getting, and Naruto shot the animal a look that must've been of pure jealously. She mentally giggled and just smiled. Naruto ate his dango and looked at the sky instead. "Do you have someplace to be?" Naruto looked at her and shrugged.

"Yeah, Tsunade wants me in her office in about two hours. It's probably another mission. We have to keep up an image, I guess," Naruto said. He was actually surprised to see Kurenai, a Jonin, was in the village during a time like this. He watched her hold Minato and sighed. What kind of life was that of a ninja when love had to be quick and easy to break? He didn't know because the ninja lifestyle was his only option now. He sighed again and closed his eye. Everything stopped for a second. All the noise was brought down to almost mute as smell took over. He was about sent into a gagging fit when the scent of wet dog came close. He opened his eye and looked over at Kurenai and her students.

"Naruto? When did you get out of the hospital? We all thought you'd be one of the ninja on missions along with the rest of your team," Kiba said. Naruto looked confused before realizing what Kiba meant about the missions. Team Seven specialized in assassins and S-ranked missions of all kind, the village's backbone. He almost laughed at memory of an assassination where Sakura and Sasuke had to pose as a couple while Naruto used a henge to act like Kakashi's girlfriend. "Naruto, you look beat. Are you okay?" Naruto blinked and sighed.

"They've already sent me out on two missions so far. One was my specialty while the other was to bring back the Fifth Hokage. I just go back, and I think I'm about to be dispatched again in two more hours," Naruto said. He shrugged at their shocked faces. "Team Seven took missions one right after another with about an hour in between each." He closed his eye again and felt Minato jump into his lap. He tried to ignore the creature until it licked his cheek. "Damn cat." Naruto looked at Akamaru. "Minato, go play dead and see if that mutt will eat you." Naruto received a smack from Minato's little paw. Kiba laughed loudly while Akamaru glared at Minato.

"Naruto, you're only a Genin like the rest of us. What kind of missions would they give you as a solo?" Shino asked. Naruto smirked and looked over at the bug boy. They had a lot in common. There was something in their bodies that made many stay away from them. Naruto didn't talk to him much though. He usually avoided people and hung around in his apartment a lot.

"S-ranked and A-ranked ones. I've even received unmarked missions from time to time. I went on one alone while the others were injured, and the Third didn't want me to take it. He almost shit himself when I came back alive!" Naruto said. He found it funny, but the others found it just creepy. Naruto was truly weird. "I'm just hoping to be promoted to Chunin soon because being a Genin sucks. I still have to do Genin missions." Hinata looked at her crush. He was weird and rivaled most Jonin.

"W-w-why a-a-aren't y-y-you b-b-becoming a J-j-j-jonin?" Hinata asked. Naruto looked at her and immediately looked away. Byakugan eyes were meant to look so nice to someone like him. He smiled and petted Minato. It was to distract his eyes even though he knew it was kind of rude. She asked a very good question too. The ANBU were always on his ass about joining their ranks. He sighed.

"The Third Hokage was my guardian. He wished for me to be as normal as possible, which meant going through the ranks like an average shinobi. Now that he's gone, I'm able to make my own decisions about my lifestyle, but I respect him enough to continue going through each rank," Naruto said. He began to distract them by telling them minor details of some of his missions. He held back the target names and the kills. Only Founder, Flame, Flower, and Fox needed to know that information.

ICECOLD

Naruto yawned loudly as he walked into Tsunade's office with Minato at his heels. He was thirty minutes late, and Tsunade was fuming at her desk. The white haired boy ignored it and nodded at Shikamaru, who stared at him. Both of them were confused on why the other was there. Was it a joint mission? Couldn't be because of their skills being towards two different things. Tsunade motioned them to sit, and they obeyed. Minato took Naruto's lap as his seat. Tsunade sighed and looked at them.

"Nara Shikamaru and Uzumaki Naruto, you're both promoted to the rank Chunin," Tsunade said. Both boys sighed and knew there was something more. "You're also going to be part of an underground rank equal to Hunter ninja. Your job as this rank is easy. You'll be trained together and by separate people. Most hunters would never know anyone else in the rank, but you'll be the first pair that does. Tomorrow, Shizune will give you your uniforms. All I have are your Chunin vests." She gave them the green vests and watched them put them on. Naruto was reluctant about putting it on. "Once you reach the rank of Jonin, wearing the vest would be optional." Naruto frowned and made a face. "I want to see you two about eight tomorrow morning. Don't be late." Naruto was the first one out of there. He couldn't wait to tell his team and Kurenai about his promotion. Shikamaru sighed and looked at the Hokage. He didn't understand something about this promotion.

"Hokage-sama, I don't mean to criticize your judgment, but I don't think Naruto and I are compatible with each others' abilities. I've never seen much of Naruto's, but he's more of a fighter from what I have seen of his. I'm a thinker," Shikamaru said. Tsunade smiled and interlocked her fingers. She found this interesting that the genius had yet to catch on to his bond with Naruto.

"Naruto is a fighter, but he was trained to think like you. He was trained to think like a criminal most of all. You have a quality that will help Naruto. You can hold the person still while Naruto makes the kill. It's perfect. Now scram!" Tsunade shouted. Shikamaru bowed before leaving. He didn't see the Hokage drinking, trying to forget that she was assigning an adult job to children. Most people liked to forget that once a child accepts the hitai-ate, they're no longer a child but an adult.

ICECOLD

Naruto ran into the hospital and almost crashed into the receptionist's desk. He asked about Kakashi because the Jonin might have already left. The Jonin was discharged earlier, right before his meeting with Tsunade. He found out Sasuke's room number and figured that Sakura would be trying to be the older sister and get her little brother moving towards recovery. Naruto walked into the room to find Sasuke yelling at her with a plate of sliced apples thrown onto the ground. All eyes were suddenly on him, but they soon shifted towards his new vest. Sasuke growled at him.

"Fox, fight me," Sasuke more or less demanded. Naruto's eyes flickered to a dull blue as Sasuke spoke. No one knew about Naruto's secret wish to fight one of the Uchiha heirs and to beat them. Sasuke threw back his covers and glared at Naruto. Sakura tried to keep them calm, but she was being ignored. "The roof now!" Sasuke climbed out of the bed and walked passed both his teammates. Naruto stared at a piece of crushed fruit and soon followed.

The fight on the hospital roof started out as simple taijutsu. Naruto kicked the Uchiha brat into the air and knew that something changed when he heard a familiar crackle. Naruto watched Sasuke charge up a Chidori. Without thinking, he did the same with a Rasengan and jumped towards his enemy. He held his arm stiffly out as he began to close in. Sakura was screaming for them to stop and ran out to stop them. By her luck, she got in between them when it was too late to stop. Kakashi showed up in the nick of time and threw them both at the water towers on the roof. Sasuke smirked proudly when he saw that Naruto's tower only had a little hole. Both boys disappeared without a word.

"Don't worry, Sakura. Things will calm down between them soon," Kakashi said. He patted her head and smiled at her. Sakura trusted this man with her life, so she trusted his word. He took off as well because he had to find Jiraiya and demanded why Naruto, an emotionally unstable shinobi, was taught the Rasengan. The boy was going to hurt someone and regret it. He had to find Sasuke first and scold him on using the Chidori on a comrade. Especially Fox.

ICECOLD

Naruto woke up the next morning and felt angry over something that he couldn't figure out. He sighed and rubbed his face before he got out of bed. Tsunade had given Naruto the clothes of a uniformed Chunin, much to his annoyance. Shikamaru opted to keep his regular one, and Naruto got it black because he needed new clothes. He put the pants on and looked at himself in the mirror. Scars traced his body. He used a henge in the Chunin exams, but he couldn't anymore. He sighed again and pulled on the long sleeve shirt. It was odd to wear long sleeves in the summertime, but he had too. The vest was left unzipped as he turned to his hitai-ate lying on the nightstand, waiting to be worn. He couldn't remember his reason on being a shinobi anymore. All the nameless faces all collected themselves within the memory of that metal plate. The leaf symbol upon it bore so much. He tied it around his neck to hide his scar and zipped up his vest. Dawn was barely touching the rooftops as Naruto walked out with Minato chasing his heels.

"Minato, I feel like something bad is going to happen today," Naruto said absentmindedly. He looked down at the blonde cat that responded with a meow. Naruto sighed and held open his arms. Minato jumped into the waiting arms to avoid the few people that were actually awake at this time. Mainly shop keeps and shinobi walked about. Some of them watched Naruto while others ignored him. He was just another boy on the street to most. Naruto hated the ignoring ones the most.

"Yo, Naruto!" Shikamaru said as he walked up to the white haired boy. It was five minutes until eight, and they were outside the building. Minato had taken off to find Kurenai because Naruto wasn't giving him enough attention. "You look horrible." Nightmares kept Naruto up most the night. The boy shrugged and sighed. The two Chunin turned and walked into the office, and Tsunade looked up at them with a smile that was kind of dark. The smiled disappeared when Naruto yawned. The lack of sleep was etched upon his face like ink to a canvas. Nightmares probably.

"Naruto, you need to sleep more to stay alert. I've got an important mission for you two. I need you to gather as many Genin as possible in half an hour. Uchiha Sasuke left the village early this morning. Whether it was on his own will or lured, we don't know. Get him back here as fast as possible before Orochimaru gets him. Anything else?" Tsunade asked. Neither boy moved. "Shikamaru, you're in charge with Naruto as secondary command. Get going now!" Both scrambled out to go searching for Genin. Sakura and Rock Lee were out on injuries, so that left them fewer options.

Within the time limit, only Kiba, Choji, and Neji were available. Shino, Ino, Hinata, and Tenten were all away on missions, and Sakura and Lee were injured but there to see them off. Naruto looked at his 'adoptive sister' and couldn't even bring out a fake grin. She hugged him and gave him a giant smile. All the guys were watching to see what happen next.

"Flower, I don't know if I can bring Flame back uninjured. I'll try not hurting him too much, but I'm not doing this for Sasuke. I'm doing this to find Flame. Kurenai should have Minato. Can you tell her to hold onto him until I return? I don't want him hurt before I properly train him," Naruto said. He smiled and turned away. Sakura felt something in the bottom of her heart that said this would be the last time his face looked so peaceful again. His right eye worried her the most, and he kept it closed as he traveled farther away and closer to Sasuke.

About a half an hour out, Naruto's nose picked up on an all too familiar smell. He shuddered from behind Shikamaru, and Kiba picked up on it as well. Akamaru whimpered about it, alerting the others. Naruto yawned and wanted to disappear from the mission. He wanted to go back to the good old days where he was killing off faceless targets to become an assassination squad with Flower and Flame.

"Blood. Tons of it. Dead ahead," Kiba said with fear in his voice. He looked into the trees, waiting for an enemy. "It follows through the forest along with the heavy scent of snake." Naruto sighed and looked at Shikamaru's back. He knew how to kill a man in any position and noted everyone's low guard. Maybe the assassin in him was kicking in, but they couldn't smell the amount of power the trail held. Naruto cringed and howled unintentionally. "Naruto! Do want to get us killed?" A small grey fox suddenly leapt out of a bush at them. Naruto smiled and knelt down. It came right to him.

"He's our sole witness to a fight and followed the freaky ones. There are four of them. Several wire traps are set. Some of the wire is invisible like spider's web. He alerted me first due to my scent. Shoo before he wants to speak with you," Naruto said. He didn't like talking to foxes because it made him feel awkward. His current teammates just stared as the fox disappeared. "They're resting not too far from here. Follow the fox's scent." Kiba scratched his head with a confused look. "What?"

"Naruto, that fox's scent leads to Konoha and back to you. You've been all through these woods, so I can't tell your scent from his. Let's just follow the blood and split into three groups. Neji and Shikamaru in one. Me and Choji in another. Naruto, you can hold your own against someone of this power," Kiba suggested. He looked at Shikamaru, who nodded and signaled for them to split up. Neji and Shikamaru found the enemies quickly, but they stayed in the tree tops. Something alerted the four enemies. It was Naruto walking straight into the clearing. He looked like a child.

"Hello, strangers," Naruto said smiling. The four ninja were waiting for some form of an attack. Naruto held up his hands in a way of proving something. "Don't worry about me. I'm not dangerous. I'm not the one who you should worry about anyhow. I'm just here for my teammate." His eyes were closed, and it appeared like he was making academy mistakes. "If I don't get my teammate, I'll make sure you're all dead." The first shinobi, a boy with six arms, attacked using a bunch of spider threads. The whole clearing burst into green flames. "While you weren't looking, I set up a new trap. As soon as an unrecognizable chakra goes off, my flames pop up everywhere. It won't be long until all four of you are goo." Neji and Shikamaru couldn't believe that Naruto looked like he was enjoying this. Sound Four didn't realize that it was a Genjutsu as their bodies melted. Naruto retrieved the giant pot rather easily.

"Naruto! Watch out!" Shikamaru shouted, realizing the trap Naruto missed. Naruto figured he would play the Genjutsu card and get out unharmed. It was played right back at him. Naruto's world disappeared from the forest and turned to a flaming battlefield that was unrecognizable. Naruto began laughing instead of screaming. Shikamaru and Neji came out of their hiding spot to help him after Sound Four regained Sasuke. Naruto began to attack them with clouded eyes. "Neji, we need to hit him hard enough to knock him out. I can't break the jutsu!" Neji nodded and signaled for Kiba and Choji. They came out to stop the crazed boy, but he held them back.

"Say hello to the devil for me, friend," Naruto said. He raised his hand to attack, but Kiba attacked first. He had snuck up behind him and bashed his head with a rock. Naruto fell to the ground as Sound Four appeared from the trees. The fat one quickly captured them in a rock dome, shocking everyone in the dome. Neji quickly checked on Naruto, and Kiba was ready in case Naruto woke up and started to attack a comrade again. The scarred boy groaned and opened his single eye. His head was pounding to beat the drum, and he concluded it was from the wound on the back of it. "Damn, should've been more aware. Sorry Shikamaru. I was so close." Naruto sat up against the spinning and looked around. He was left alone for about a few minutes because the others were trying to think of a way out as they slowly realized that their chakra was being sucked out.

"You do know whose fault this was, right?" Jirobo said. Naruto closed his eyes and looked away from everyone. "That scarred one and pineapple head one. If he wasn't such a gay and only concerned about his boyfriend, you'd be outside this dome. If pineapple head planned better, the scarred one wouldn't have been the one to go after Sasuke." Naruto punched the wall and growled. He wanted to see this boy dead. "Maybe it's pineapple head who is gay with the scarred one?" Naruto punched the wall harder and felt his knuckle break. The Kyuubi healed it quickly though. A hand clamped onto his shoulder. Naruto looked at Shikamaru with angry eyes.

"Calm down, Naruto. You're no use angry. Any ideas?" Shikamaru asked. He wanted to see Naruto's thinking in action and see what training Naruto had. The tired boy shifted through all his memories for something that was strong enough to break through stone like this. He stopped at one memory and chuckled. Naruto stood up and signaled for them to huddle up. "What?" Naruto couldn't stop smirking, so it must be painful.

"Do you know what Hokage-sama's special ability besides medical jutsu is?" Naruto asked looking at them. No one replied. "It's super strength. We need something equal to her strength to hit the weakest point of this dome." Naruto looked at his hand. "We don't have a lot of time before we start passing out from low chakra. Neji, can you and Kiba work on finding the weak point?" Neji nodded and began to order Kiba on what to do. "Choji, when they find that point, you need to use your expansion jutsu and roll us out of here!" Naruto smiled at the bigger boy. Shikamaru couldn't believe what just happen. Naruto thought the same plan as he did and selected the right people too. He watched Naruto talk with Choji on the different advantages of the Akimichi expansion jutsu.

"Naruto, are you completely sure about this?" Choji asked. There was no time for Naruto to answer because Neji and Kiba found the weak point. Choji gulped and used the baika no jutsu to break through the stone wall. As soon as the wall broke, Naruto's plan was successful and over. "Now what?" Everyone looked at Shikamaru and Naruto as they walked out of the rubble. Naruto grinned and pulled out a kunai. He stepped up next to Choji.

"We do what all shinobi do. We fight," Naruto said. He tensed up, but Choji put a hand on his shoulder. The bigger boy stood in front of all of them. His eyes held a seriousness that made Naruto quiet again. He watched along with the others as the fat man stepped towards them with all the intent of killing them. "You're going to fight him?" Naruto cocked his head to the side as if curious. Choji nodded, not ever looking back. He tossed a tied up bag over his shoulder to Naruto, who caught it with ease.

"Military pellets are all I've got for you. Take them and go. I'll catch up later," Choji said. Shikamaru nodded and led the team out. Choji felt them leave as he pulled out a container that contained three different colored pellets in it. He took the green one out as the fat Sound ninja charged at him. "Here goes nothing." Choji blocked the older boy's hit.

ICECOLD

Naruto chose to never look behind him as he chased the smell of snake and blood with his teammates. He heard some of the fight, but as they increased the distance, it became nothing but silence. Shikamaru insisted they keep stopping to leave an arrow cut into a tree for Choji to follow when he was done. Everybody agreed with the genius's thinking. Naruto sniffed the air at the next stop. A scent of power that was so strong that he was afraid would kill him if he wasn't ready.

"Let's go get back Flame!" Naruto shouted, pointing onward. He jumped to the next branch as the others followed closely behind. They didn't question Naruto's state of mind as he kept to the trail of blood and Flame.

**How was that? Critiquing is always welcomed.**


	5. Preview

**Still rewriting. Fair warning, due to this being AU, most of the characters are OOC.**

**Oh, the italics are Naruto's thoughts. The bold print is Kyuubi's voice.**

**NOTE: This is part of chapter five. I've decided that since I rewrote the first four and am in the process of writing five, I'd put out a preview of the chapter. I wouldn't review this chapter until the whole chapter is out. **

**Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, Sasuke would be WEAK, and Itachi would be a HERO.**

**Chapter Five: Retrieval**

Choji felt his friends leave as he quickly chewed on the pellet. Jirobo was closing in on him. He wouldn't let this guy passed him. It was his duty to stop him. Choji grunted as Jirobo ran right into the large boy, who smirked. He slowly lifted the bigger teen off the ground and threw him several feet away. Jirobo couldn't believe what was happening. This kid actually lifted him up. As he climbed out of the rumble, the enemy didn't notice Choji wincing from the side effects.

"Goodbye," Choji said as he wrapped strings of kunai around his legs, torso, and arms. He quickly went through the hand seals that he knew without any thought at all. _Baika no jutsu! (Expansion jutsu). _He turned into a spike ball within seconds and began speeding at his recovering opponent. In a quick defense, Jirobo threw up a rock shield that Choji quickly broke through. The enemy had no choice but to stop Choji with his bare hands. The Konoha shinobi was shocked and watched lines of triangles cover Jirobo's skin. The older boy didn't look too happy.

"You're pushing your luck, brat! Those idiot leaders of yours are quick to throw you away!" Jirobo shouted. He growled and threw out his arm. _Hosho (Splatter palm). _Choji was the one to fly backwards this time and cancelled out his jutsu. He was starting to feel more of the side effects. Jirobo chuckled. "It's funny how life works. Out of a group of five, one of them is the reject. The reject is just the guy that hangs around for a laugh or two. Whenever the group gets into a situation, they send out the fool to be the first one out. It's like a pawn among knights." Jirobo took a step forth. "Hello puny pawn." Choji looked at the ground and knew he was right. People thought of him as a failure. "Aw, did I hurt the baby?" Jirobo chuckled again. "Konoha must be low on people if they're sending trash out to fight us." Choji frowned as he remembered Shikamaru's faith in him. He pulled out the container and took out the yellow pellet, Karegan.

"There's a reason why he left me fight you alone!" Choji shouted as the power pulsed through him. He didn't catch Jirobo's comment either. "Here I come, Fatty!" Jirobo was charging straight for him. _Bubun-baika no jutsu (the art of partical expansion). _Choji slammed the enemy into the ground with a giant right hand. Jirobo countered with a well placed punch to the jaw, sending Choji into the air. The older boy watched as Choji smirked and brought his hands together. "Prepare for defeat!" _The art of super expansion!_ A Choji the size of a mountain fell on top of the enemy and several trees. Choji figured he won until something moved him from his stomach.

"What a waste! Having to use my second form on you?" Jirobo complained. He looked extremely angry. The powerful boy slammed his palm upwards against Choji. _Sho-Gekisho (Palm slam)._ Giant Choji went flying into the air, and as he hit the ground again, he cancelled the jutsu. As the dust cleared, Choji got to see how Jirobo looked now. He was shocked at the transformation. Fear spread through him. "This battle is over. My second state makes me ten times more powerful. I'm unstoppable." Jirobo started walking towards Choji. "There are drawbacks such as greater need for chakra." Choji winced in pain from the side effects of the pellet. He knew in his head what his last choice was. He couldn't use the red one because it would kill him. Jirobo smirked down at Choji and punched him in the stomach hard enough to break the ground around him. He grabbed Choji by the throat and tried to suck out the remaining chakra. "That was a waste. Hardly enough to be considered an appetizer." Choji fought consciousness as he reached towards his chip bag. Jirobo noticed and stomped on the reaching hand. He instead got the bag and ate the remaining chip. "It's just like what I said before. You're nothing but the weakling pawn. After this, I'm going for some juicy knights." He chuckled and looked at Choji's fading consciousness. "You're a shunned fatty that's now dead." Choji remembered Shikamaru's first meeting with him after the other kids kicked him out of their game. Choza told Choji that he would meet many comrades that would become precious. Using the last of his energy, he pulled out the red pellet and ate it. "Whatever you're doing now is too late!" _A'ssho! (Crushing palm)! _The ground broke around them, and as the smoke cleared, Jirobo was shocked to see Choji standing with chakra butterfly wings. He was concentrating all of it into his left hand. "Gangeki! Boulder blow!" Jirobo went to punch the smaller boy but was stopped by Choji's hand. The boy looked deathly serious.

"It's no good anymore because I'm a hundred times stronger than before!" Choji said before elbowing the enemy. Jirobo was shocked as he skidded against the ground. "They say that there's nothing scarier than a grudge over food. That elbow was for taking the last chip." Choji tightened his left fist. "This next blow is more serious. You called me a throwaway pawn, something I'm not ready to forgive." Jirobo paled. "You insulted my friend! That's worst than calling me names or taking the last chip! It's unforgivable!" Choji punched Jirobo in the chest, killing the older boy. The Genin watched the seal retreat and Jirobo's eyes roll to the back of his head.


	6. NOTICE

**NOTICE: I've realized something. I truly need to think of where my plot for ICE COLD is going. In the beginning, I had this idea going along with my plot in my story INNOCENT but that's not the case. I followed the list of events in the canon that I deemed were important events like Battling Gaara, Find Tsunade, and Sasuke Retrieval. Let's face it, people. My fight scenes suck. I'm going total reconstruction to fix the similarities some of these events hold strongly to the canon and to fix Naruto's scattered character development. I've realized what I need to do, and fans, you should expect a brand new ICE COLD when I'm done. The original chapters and this rewrite will be posted under a different story though.**

**THINGS CHANGING:**

Sasuke Retrieval

Sannin Battle

Battle with Orochimaru in Chunin Exams

Naruto's childhood

Itachi and Kurenai's involvements in his childhood

Team Seven's development

People's reactions when seeing 'zombie' Naruto.

**To follow the rules, I give you an ICE COLD drabble.**

**I don't own Naruto now, and I won't own him any time soon.**

Nobody every asked Naruto about why he hurt himself a lot. Nobody _cared_. Naruto didn't even care. He went about finding forgotten weapons, tools, and rocks. He ignored the Third's disappointed stare. He hated the old man, but that hatred wasn't like the one he held for the village. They assigned a ninja guard to him. Why? Naruto soon figured it was to keep him from inflicted pain upon himself. He glared at the guard and went to move from his position in a tree. He slipped.

"Naruto, what am I going to do with you?" the Hokage asked. He reached out to pat Naruto's head, but the boy's glare stopped him. The old man sighed and made sure the nurse was gone. "Naruto, I'm at wit's end. I'm not giving up on you. One day, someone will put you on the right path in life." Naruto shrugged and looked away. In an hour, he'd be kicked out because his wounds would be healed. He would spend the rest of his night sleeping in an alley because he couldn't remember his way home.

Several months later, Naruto met Hyuga Hizashi. The older man was the one to end his jumping off high places days. Naruto found out several days later that Hizashi was dead. He wasn't able to attend the funeral, so he had his own little one. It was to say thanks for helping him think better. Naruto ignored the envelopes sitting on his table because he didn't know how to count that high. The small boy wished the Hokage let him stay in the orphanage. At least the caretaker paid attention to him, even though it was in a negative way.

It would be a year before Naruto met his most precious person in life. He had spent that year learning to be an adult. Four-year-old Naruto was demanded to group up fourteen years too early. The child hated bills. His child scrawl was terrible to read, but he got better. Most four-year-olds were just learning basics. Between the clans becoming more aggressive (which in turn meant the villagers were braver) and the increasingly expensive bills, Naruto ran away. He ambushed his guard, stole a kunai, and ran as fast as he could. It sucked that Kurenai saved him from death.

"Naruto, are you okay?" the Hokage asked the four-year-old. Naruto looked at the Hokage from his table. The old man was a rare visitor, and his visits made Naruto nervous. How much longer would he be living in this rundown apartment? "I heard about your conversation with Kurenai." No reaction came from Naruto as he focused on his bills. The electric bill almost tripled, and Naruto kept all the lights out. He sighed. "Naruto, I hope you understand the value of friends someday." Naruto didn't glare or growl when the Hokage patted him on the head. "Life is only going to get harder without friends to help you stand." Naruto didn't care. Nobody liked him, so he liked nobody. Nothing would change his mind.

**Yeah, until I'm finished with the reconstruction, I'll see ya!**


	7. NOTICE 2

**Hey, I bet you didn't expect me back so soon. I got to work on the reconstruction of ICE COLD while my other requests were shot to the side. Haha, sorry requesters. I'm attempting to get out all the previous requests out by January. Back to ICE COLD, It's only the first two paragraphs of the rewritten version because I posted that under another story. Reason: People who read the first chapter wouldn't be able to review again, this gives them the chance. I thank all who dealt with the Rewrite and Original versions. I hope everyone likes Reconstruction. Oh, the title of the story Reconstruction is under is ICE COLD. Haha, almost done with chapter two by the way.**

**I don't own Naruto. Here's to keep to the rules (read the rest on ICE COLD):**

"There it goes again. Walking like it's human!" a village complained. The thing in question didn't look as he walked on. The thing was only three. He didn't understand why none of the women would hold him and patch up his boo-boos. He didn't like how none of the men wouldn't laugh with him and pat him on the head. Nobody would touch him as if his skin had some sort of disease. He didn't wince when a glass bottle was thrown at his head and missed. He just continued his way home. The orphanage caretaker threw him out a few months earlier, so the Hokage gave him an apartment to live in.

The apartment was empty of life and was cold. The white haired boy didn't care. He closed the door and locked it in silence. It didn't matter anymore if he talked or didn't. Nobody cared if he even got up every day. The boy sighed and imagined a better life. He closed his eyes real tight and opened them to see if it was just a dream. Sadly, he was still living a nightmare. The boy didn't smile. He didn't understand smiling. He walked into the kitchen and opened one of the lower cabinets. An old kunai was the only item in the cabinet. The little boy grabbed it and sighed. He brought it to his arm like he saw the academy kids do onto the dummies. He was a dummy. He had no soul and was only a punching bag.


End file.
